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Differential Meaning-in-Life Crisis Questionnaire3

Differential Meaning-in-Life Crisis Questionnaire Test

Clarify which meaning-in-life crisis you’re facing in about 4 minutes. With 18 items, it quickly pinpoints where your sense of purpose is breaking down to guide support and next steps.

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Questions: 184 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

29,755 views

2,419 completions

2,162 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

11/24

Unrealized Potential Crisis (UPC)

Measures dissatisfaction and a sense of unfulfillment when meaningful goals feel difficult to realize in everyday life.

Low

High

6 – 17: Low | 18 – 24: High

A score of 11 falls in the Low range, suggesting relatively little dissatisfaction with turning discovered meaning into practical outcomes.

example score

16/24

Meaning Loss Crisis (MLC)

Measures how difficult it is to maintain previously held life meaning in the face of changing or adverse circumstances.

Low

High

6 – 15: Low | 16 – 24: High

A score of 16 falls in the High range, suggesting notable difficulty holding onto a prior sense of meaning and increased internal disorientation.

example score

16/24

Meaninglessness Crisis (MC)

Measures the intensity of perceived lack of purpose and difficulty finding personal meaning in life.

Low

High

6 – 13: Low | 14 – 24: High

A score of 16 falls in the High range, suggesting a marked sense of meaninglessness and unresolved search for life meaning.

example score

48/72

Overall Meaning-in-Life Crisis Level (OMiLCL)

Measures the overall intensity of existential crisis experiences related to meaninglessness, loss of meaning, or difficulty realizing life’s meaning.

Low

Moderate

High

18 – 30: Low | 31 – 44: Moderate | 45 – 72: High

A score of 48 falls in the High range, suggesting a relatively strong current intensity of concerns about finding, maintaining, or realizing life’s meaning.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Feeling life is empty

41%OF USERS

People who feel numb or directionless and want to understand whether they’re in a crisis of meaninglessness or something else.

After major life changes

34%OF USERS

Those going through a breakup, loss, relocation, career change, or burnout who sense their old purpose has collapsed and want clarity on what’s happening.

Purposeful but stuck

25%OF USERS

People who can name what matters to them but struggle to act on it, and want to see if they’re facing an unrealized meaning crisis.

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

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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.

Crisis of Unfulfillment (CoU)

Average

12.3

Normal range

9.4 — 15.1

min.

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Crisis of Meaning Loss (CoML)

Average

18.9

Normal range

15.8 — 22

min.

max.

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The Crisis of Meaninglessness (TCoM)

Average

15.5

Normal range

13.2 — 17.9

min.

max.

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Overall level of existential crisis (Oloec)

Average

42.2

Normal range

35.3 — 49.1

min.

max.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below is a list of statements describing different ways a person may relate to their own life. Please read each statement carefully and indicate the extent to which it applies to you. Select the response option that best reflects your opinion. Do not spend too much time thinking about your answers; choose the response that first comes to mind. Do not skip any statements, and remember that there are no right or wrong, good or bad answers.

- Completely untrue
- Probably not true
- Probably true
- Completely true
- Completely untrue
- Probably not true
- Probably true
- Completely true
- Completely untrue
- Mostly untrue
- Mostly true
- Completely true

These are 3 of the 18 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

Differential Questionnaire of Meaning-in-Life Crisis, MLC-D Test

Differential Meaning-in-Life Crisis Questionnaire Test - Symptoms and Signs

existential psychology

meaningfulness

life crisis

This measure is designed to help differentiate common presentations of meaning-in-life distress. The Differential Meaning-in-Life Crisis Questionnaire is intended to clarify the predominant pattern of crisis-related concerns in the domain of life meaning.

It is a brief self-report instrument with 18 items that can be completed in about 4 minutes. Content focuses on distinguishing experiences consistent with perceived meaninglessness, loss of previously held meaning, and difficulty translating perceived meaning into lived action. Developed by Paul T. P. Wong, the Differential Meaning-in-Life Crisis Questionnaire may be used in clinical or counseling contexts to support case formulation and to monitor change over time when meaning-related distress is a focus of treatment.

Author: Paul T. P. Wong

Literature: Steger, M. F. Meaning in life. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), The encyclopedia of positive psychology. Wiley-Blackwell. 2009.; Haynes, S. N., Smith, G. T., & Hunsley, J. Scientific foundations of clinical assessment. Routledge. 2011.