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PHQ-9 Depression Test

The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 is a brief, validated depression screener used in primary care worldwide. Answer nine questions to see your score and interpretation.

How the PHQ-9 is scored

Each of the nine items is rated 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day) based on how often it bothered you over the last two weeks. Item scores are summed for a total between 0 and 27.

A cutoff score of 10 is the standard threshold suggesting further evaluation. At this cutoff the PHQ-9 has 88% sensitivity and 88% specificity for major depression (Kroenke et al., 2001).

Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?

Question 1
01

Little interest or pleasure in doing things

Question 2
02

Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless

Question 3
03

Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much

Question 4
04

Feeling tired or having little energy

Question 5
05

Poor appetite or overeating

Question 6
06

Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down

Question 7
07

Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television

Question 8
08

Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed — or the opposite, being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual

Question 9
09

Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way

Please answer all 9 questions to see your result.

About this test

The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was developed by Kroenke, Spitzer, and Williams (2001) and is widely used in primary care as a brief screener for depression severity. It is free to use without permission.

This screener is a self-assessment tool, not a diagnosis. If you are in distress, please consult a mental health professional. In a crisis in the Czech Republic call 112 or Linka bezpečí 116 111.