Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS)
Clinical intent
The Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS) is a psychological assessment tool designed to measure the degree to which individuals accept their illness. Originally developed by B.J. Felton, T.A. Revenson, and G.A. Hinrichsen in 1984, the AIS has been widely used in research and clinical practice to evaluate how patients adapt to chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions.
Clinical interpretation
The AIS score is interpreted using three categories based on research literature:
| Score Range | Interpretation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 8-19 points | Low acceptance | Poor adaptation to illness, significant psychological discomfort |
| 20-30 points | Moderate acceptance | Average level of illness acceptance |
| 31-40 points | High acceptance | Good adaptation to illness, minimal negative emotions |
References
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Felton, B.J., Revenson, T.A., & Hinrichsen, G.A. (1984). Coping with chronic illness: a study of illness controllability and the influence of coping strategies on psychological adjustment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52(3), 343-353.
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Juczyński, Z. (2012). Measurement tools in health promotion and psychology. Warsaw: Laboratory of psychological tests. pp. 162-166.
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Czerw, A., Religioni, U., Szumilas, P., et al. (2022). Normalization of the AIS (Acceptance of Illness Scale) questionnaire and the possibility of its use among cancer patients. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 29(2), 269-273.
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Leong, W.C., Azmi, N.A., Wee, L.H., et al. (2021). Validation and reliability of the Bahasa Malaysia language version of the Acceptance of Illness Scale among Malaysian patients with cancer. PLOS ONE, 16(4), e0256216.
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English version of the questionnaire - PLOS Figshare
Pathway
Form preview
Interactive preview of the questionnaire. Not for clinical use. Responses are not stored.