Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of Health Anxiety Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: Health anxiety can be defined by concern about health in the absence of a pathology. The Health Anxiety Questionnaire (HAQ) based on the cognitive-behavioral model can be useful for evaluating the severity and the structure of health anxiety. This study aims to verify the reliability and validity of Korean version of HAQ (K-HAQ). METHODS: For reliability, test-retest reliability and internal consistency were analyzed. For construct validity, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to identify the optimal cut-off score. RESULTS: Cronbach’s alpha was 0.92, and r value of test-retest reliability was 0.84. In the EFA, 4- and 5-factor model showed cumulative percentile of variance of 60% or more. In the CFA, the 4-factor model was found to be the most appropriate and simplest (χ(2) =397.33, df=187, CFI=0.909, TLI=0.888, RMSEA=0.077). In the ROC analysis, the cut-off score was 20 points. CONCLUSION: It is expected that K-HAQ can be helpful to evaluate the severity of health anxiety and make therapeutic plans because K-HAQ can help explore the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral structure of health anxiety by each factor.