Mental health
Anxiété
Dépression
General medicine
The HAD (HADS) scale is a self-administered screening questionnaire for anxiety and depressive symptoms, initially designed for patients receiving general medical care. It yields two distinct subscores, which should be interpreted separately and evaluated in conjunction with the clinical interview.
Number of questions
14 questions
Approximate duration
3 to 5 minutes
Population
Adults
Modality
Self-administered questionnaire
SELF-QUESTIONNAIRE
Seven questions (odd numbers) relate to anxiety and seven (even numbers) to depression. Each item is scored from 0 to 3 according to its specific scale: the order of the answers and their meaning vary from one item to another. The period evaluated is the past week.
Are you patient?
You can complete this questionnaire yourself. Both results will be reviewed with the professional; they do not constitute automatic diagnoses.
Score interpretationHADS
The seven items in each dimension are summed separately: anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D), each ranging from 0 to 21.
Total score
First reading
0
to
7
Both sub-scores are 7 or less: below the screening threshold.
8
to
10
At least one sub-score is between 8 and 10: intermediate zone, possible symptomatology.
11
to
21
At least one subscore reaches 11 or more: suggestive symptomatology.
The HADS scale consists of two independent subscores, each ranging from 0 to 21 points: HADS-A (anxiety) and HADS-D (depression). These categories do not correspond to a definitive diagnosis of an anxiety or depressive disorder. HADS-A and HADS-D results must be displayed separately.
The HADS does not cover the entire psychiatric evaluation. Its thresholds should not be equated with diagnoses, and a clinical difficulty must not be overlooked on the grounds that a subscore is low. The two subscores are not added together: the thresholds do not apply to an overall total out of 42.
Terms of contract
The choice of items limiting the somatic component aimed to reduce confusion with physical illness. This design does not remove the need to take the medical context and the patient's personal experience into account.
Frequently asked questions
What does the HADS stand for?
Does a sub-score of 11 confirm a disorder?
What are its limits?
Sources and references
Anthony S. Zigmond and R. Philip Snaith
Initial validation: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1983.
In practice
Full name
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
Method
Self-administered questionnaire
Language
French
Authors
Anthony S. Zigmond and R. Philip Snaith
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