The HAM-A measures the severity of both psychic and somatic anxiety symptoms and is widely used today in both clinical and research settings. The HAM-A was one of the first rating scales developed to measure the severity of anxiety symptoms. The scale consists of 14 items, each defined by a series of symptoms, and measures both psychic anxiety (mental agitation and psychological distress) and somatic anxiety (physical complaints related to anxiety). Each parameter is rated on a scale of zero to four, with four being the most severe. All of these scores are used to compute an overarching score that indicates a person's anxiety severity.
