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Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS)3

Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) Test

Designed for people who want to explore their experiences, the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) Test contains 13 questions and takes about 3 minutes. Your result describes areas such as emotional expression, motivation, pleasure, speech, social connection, and distress, supporting focused self-reflection on your symptom profile.

Questions: 133 minutes

Brief Negative Symptom Scale: test ticket with numbers

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Expressive DeficitED

Expressive Deficit measures reduced emotional expression and speech output by summing blunted affect and alogia severity.

example score15/30

15/30Moderateexample score

0 – 10Low

11 – 20Moderate

21 – 30High

A score of 15 falls in the Moderate range, indicating a noticeable reduction in emotional expressiveness and speech activity compared with typical levels.

Apathy-Avolition DomainAAD

Measures the severity of apathy/abulia and social withdrawal by combining anhedonia, volitional impairment, and social withdrawal symptoms.

example score20/42

20/42Moderateexample score

0 – 13Low

14 – 27Moderate

28 – 42High

A score of 20 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not highest level of apathy/abulia and social withdrawal-related difficulties in daily functioning.

AlogiaA

Assesses the degree of reduced amount and spontaneity of speech (alogia) as a negative symptom.

example score7/12

7/12Moderateexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

A score of 7 falls in the Moderate range, indicating a noticeable reduction in speech quantity and spontaneity compared with typical functioning.

Blunted AffectBA

Assesses reduction in emotional expression as reflected in facial expression, speech, and gestures.

example score11/18

11/18Moderateexample score

0 – 6Minimal

7 – 12Moderate

13 – 18Marked

A score of 11 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable reduction in emotional expressiveness across observable channels.

AvolitionA

Measures reduced initiative and difficulty carrying out intentions as part of negative symptoms.

example score6/12

6/12Moderate impairmentexample score

0 – 4Low impairment

5 – 8Moderate impairment

9 – 12High impairment

A score of 6 falls in the Moderate impairment range, suggesting noticeable difficulties with initiating and following through on intended actions.

AsocialityA

Assesses the extent of social isolation and reduced engagement with others associated with negative symptoms.

example score5/12

5/12Moderateexample score

0 – 3Low

4 – 8Moderate

9 – 12High

A score of 5 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting noticeable but not severe social withdrawal and some difficulty sustaining social interactions.

DistressD

Measures the degree of internal distress associated with negative symptoms, with higher scores indicating greater distress.

example score4/6

4/6High distressexample score

0 – 1Low distress

2 – 3Moderate distress

4 – 6High distress

A score of 4 indicates a high level of internal distress associated with negative symptoms.

AnhedoniaA

Assesses reduced ability to experience pleasure, including frequency of enjoyment and anticipation of rewarding activities.

example score8/18

8/18Moderateexample score

0 – 6Low

7 – 12Moderate

13 – 18High

A score of 8 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable reduction in pleasure and/or anticipation compared with typical functioning.

Total ScoreTS

The BNSS Total Score summarizes the overall severity of negative symptoms and their impact on functioning.

example score22/78

22/78Lowexample score

0 – 26Low

27 – 52Moderate

53 – 78High

A total score of 22 falls in the Low range, suggesting relatively mild overall negative symptom severity on this scale.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Clinicians treating schizophrenia

46%OF USERS

Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists use it to quickly rate negative symptom severity and track response to treatment over time.

Research and trial teams

32%OF USERS

Researchers and study coordinators administer it to quantify negative symptoms consistently for baseline and follow-up measurements.

Early psychosis services

22%OF USERS

Teams working with first-episode or high-risk patients use it to detect motivational and social functioning deficits that may affect recovery.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Expressive DeficitED

You?

Average11.2

Typical rangeTypical6.7 – 15.7

Possible0 – 30

Apato-abulic domainAd

You?

Average30.1

Typical rangeTypical22.7 – 37.4

Possible0 – 42

AlogiaA

You?

Average4.7

Typical rangeTypical3.2 – 6.3

Possible0 – 12

Blunted AffectBA

You?

Average6

Typical rangeTypical3.3 – 8.6

Possible0 – 18

Volitional DisordersVD

You?

Average3.8

Typical rangeTypical1.7 – 5.8

Possible0 – 12

Social WithdrawalSW

You?

Average7.6

Typical rangeTypical6 – 9.2

Possible0 – 12

Experiencing distressEd

You?

Average2.4

Typical rangeTypical1.5 – 3.4

Possible0 – 6

AnhedoniaA

You?

Average7.8

Typical rangeTypical5.5 – 10

Possible0 – 18

Total ScoreTS

You?

Average45.1

Typical rangeTypical33.4 – 56.7

Possible0 – 78

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

This scale is completed by a clinician based on the clinical interview and direct observation of the patient.

- Normal: able to experience full pleasure during a range of activities; fully within the normal range.
- Questionable: pleasure is experienced during activities, but less than many other people; still within the normal range.
- Mild: a slight reduction in the intensity of pleasure experienced during activities.
- Moderate: a slight reduction in the intensity of pleasure experienced in most activities, or a moderate reduction in the intensity of pleasure experienced in some activities.
- Moderately severe: at least a moderate reduction in the intensity of pleasure experienced in most activities; a substantial reduction may be present in one activity.
- Marked: a substantial reduction in the intensity of pleasure experienced in most activities; some capacity for pleasure remains; only moderate pleasure may be experienced even when a high level of pleasure would be expected.
- Severe: no pleasure is experienced under any circumstances.
- Normal: the patient frequently engages in pleasurable activities; no impairment in the frequency of experiencing pleasure.
- Questionable: the patient engages in pleasurable activities less often than many people, but this may be within normal limits.
- Mild: slight reduction in the frequency of pleasurable activities, outside normal limits.
- Moderate: slight reduction in the frequency of pleasure for most activities, or a moderate reduction in the frequency of pleasure for some activities.
- Marked: at least a moderate reduction in the frequency of pleasure for most activities; may include a profound reduction in intensity for one activity.
- Severe: profound reduction in the frequency of pleasure for most activities; some ability to experience pleasure remains, but it occurs rarely even when the level of pleasure would be expected to be high.
- Extreme: absence of pleasure throughout the entire previous week.
- Normal: Able to enjoy thinking about doing various activities in the future; fully within normal limits.
- Questionable: Enjoys thinking about doing various activities in the future, but less than many other people; still within normal limits.
- Mild: Enjoys thinking about doing various activities in the future, but to a somewhat lesser degree than would be expected.
- Moderate: Enjoys thinking about doing various activities in the future, but to a much lesser degree than would be expected; however, experiences some enjoyment.
- Marked: Can experience substantial pleasure when thinking about doing some activities in the future, but generally does not.
- Severe: Rarely enjoys thinking about doing various activities in the future, even when the activity would usually be very enjoyable.
- Extreme: Does not enjoy thinking about doing various activities in the future, regardless of the activity.

These are 3 of the 13 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) Test - Description and methodology of the test

psychopathology

schizophrenia

People considering a structured assessment of these experiences may find the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) Test useful for framing what they notice and what merits closer discussion. In the online format, ordered item ratings are selected from descriptive anchors, with some items addressing observable communication and behaviour. The result organizes a negative symptom profile for interpretation rather than serving as a diagnosis.

What This Assessment Explores

These show negative symptom domains:

Expressive Deficit (0-30; Low 0-10, Moderate 11-20, High 21-30) measures reduced expression and speech: Blunted Affect (0-18; Minimal 0-6, Moderate 7-12, Marked 13-18), Alogia (0-12; Low 0-4, Moderate 5-8, High 9-12).
Apathy-Avolition Domain (0-42; Low 0-13, Moderate 14-27, High 28-42) measures apathy, social withdrawal: Anhedonia (0-18; Low 0-6, Moderate 7-12, High 13-18), Avolition (0-12; Low impairment 0-4, Moderate impairment 5-8, High impairment 9-12), Asociality (0-12; Low 0-3, Moderate 4-8, High 9-12).
Distress (0-6; Low distress 0-1, Moderate distress 2-3, High distress 4-6) measures internal distress.
Total Score (0-78; Low 0-26, Moderate 27-52, High 53-78) reflects negative-symptom severity; higher values indicate impairment in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each item uses ordered descriptions from normal or absent difficulty toward greater severity. The respondent selects the best match. Two component indices sum relevant item scores, while the expression measure combines affect and speech ratings, and the apathy/avolition measure combines pleasure, initiative, and social-withdrawal ratings. The overall score is displayed alongside these results.

For context, the online version is conceptually consistent with Brief Negative Symptom Scale (Kirkpatrick et al., 2011), the published instrument associated with these constructs. Strauss et al. (2012) provide BNSS clinical-trial validation evidence, and Weigel et al. (2023) synthesize later measurement findings. These studies do not establish this online presentation as a standardized adaptation.

Interpret the pattern across scores rather than treating one elevated area as conclusive. Current mood, circumstances, insight, memory, and willingness to disclose can shape internal-experience ratings, while observable communication and behaviour depend on interaction and rater judgment. The negative symptom assessment is best read as a structured snapshot, with displayed bands interpreted alongside clinical context.

Author: Brian Kirkpatrick, William S. Fenton

Literature:

Kirkpatrick B, Strauss GP, Nguyen L, Fischer BA, Daniel DG, Cienfuegos A, Marder SR. The Brief Negative Symptom Scale: Psychometric Properties. Schizophrenia Bulletin. 2011;37(2):300-305. 10.1093/schbul/sbq059
Strauss GP, Keller WR, Buchanan RW, Gold JM, Fischer BA, McMahon RP, Catalano LT, Culbreth AJ, Carpenter WT, Kirkpatrick B. Next-generation negative symptom assessment for clinical trials: validation of the Brief Negative Symptom Scale. Schizophrenia Research. 2012;142(1-3):88-92. 10.1016/j.schres.2012.10.012
Weigel L, Wehr S, Galderisi S, Mucci A, Davis J, Giordano GM, Leucht S. The Brief negative Symptom Scale (BNSS): a systematic review of measurement properties. Schizophrenia. 2023;9(1):45. 10.1038/s41537-023-00380-x

Updated: 2025-10-02