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Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI-9)3

Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI-9) Test

Understand how strongly you’ve internalized stigma about your condition in about 2 minutes. Nine quick items give clear, clinically useful insight to guide support and strengthen self-worth.

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Questions: 92 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

20,586 views

1,628 completions

1,333 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

2/4

Severity of Self-Stigma (SoSS)

Measures the severity of internalized self-stigma related to one’s mental or neurological condition.

None/Minimal

Low–Moderate

Pronounced

1 – 2: None/Minimal | 2.01 – 3: Low–Moderate | 3.01 – 4: Pronounced

A score of 2 indicates none to minimal self-stigmatization on this scale.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People with mental health diagnoses

44%OF USERS

They want to understand how much shame, self-blame, or fear of judgment about their condition affects daily life and recovery.

People with neurological conditions

33%OF USERS

They use it to check whether their diagnosis has led to self-stigma, withdrawal, or a drop in confidence.

Therapy and clinic clients

23%OF USERS

They take it at the request of a clinician to quickly pinpoint internalized stigma and choose the right focus for support.

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.

Degree of self-stigmatization (Dos)

Average

2.3

Normal range

1.8 — 2.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

In this questionnaire, the term “mental illness” will be used; however, it may be understood in whatever terms are most appropriate for you. For each item, please select the response option that best reflects the extent to which you agree with the statement.

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 9 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI-9) Test - Symptoms and Signs

psychopathology

stigmatization

This brief self-report measure assesses the extent to which an individual has internalized negative stereotypes and self-stigmatizing beliefs related to having a mental illness. The Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI-9) is commonly used to support clinical formulation and research by characterizing the subjective impact of stigma on self-concept and social functioning.

The instrument includes 9 items and typically takes about 2 minutes to complete. Items are designed to capture core dimensions of internalized stigma (e.g., shame, alienation, and perceived discrimination), and results are generally interpreted as an indicator of severity to inform treatment planning and monitor change over time. The Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI-9) is attributed to David L. Penn.

Author: David L. Penn, Patrick W. Corrigan

Literature: Boyd, J. E., Adler, E. P., Otilingam, P. G., & Peters, T. Internalized stigma of mental illness (ISMI) scale: A multinational review. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2014.