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SF-12 Health Survey

Psychology: Health & SleepReliability: alpha 0.74–0.893 sample items

About this scale

A 12-item short form of the SF-36, producing physical and mental component summary scores. Widely used in occupational health and population surveys.

Sample item(s)

“In general, would you say your health is excellent / very good / good / fair / poor?”
“During the past 4 weeks, have you accomplished less than you would like as a result of your physical health?”
“During the past 4 weeks, have you been calm and peaceful?”

Reliability

Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.74–0.89. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.

Notes

Commercial license.

Source & citation

Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. D. (1996): A 12-item short-form health survey: Construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Medical Care, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 220–233.

Ware, Kosinski & Keller (1996): SF-12. Medical Care, 34(3), 220–233.

Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.

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