Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Test

For people who want a structured look at recent mood, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Test offers a focused self-report measure of depressive symptoms. It is suitable for anyone reviewing recent depressive symptoms and related changes in sleep, energy, appetite, concentration, mood, and self-evaluation. A depression symptom questionnaire can help organize observations before deciding what kind of support or follow-up may be useful.

What This Assessment Explores

Items examine depressive experiences over the previous two weeks, including reduced interest, low mood, sleep or appetite changes, fatigue, guilt, concentration problems, psychomotor change, and thoughts of self-harm. Its depression severity score summarizes symptom burden rather than identifying a cause or diagnosis.

These themes show what responses cover:

• Reduced interest and mood describe lost pleasure, sadness, or hopelessness.
• Physical and routine changes capture sleep, appetite, and energy disruption.
• Cognitive and self-evaluative symptoms reflect concentration difficulty, self-criticism, guilt, failure beliefs, or feeling one has let oneself or family down.
• Activity and safety signals cover unusual slowing, restlessness, and thoughts of death or self-injury.

Depression Severity ranges from 0-27 and reports None/Minimal 0-4, Mild 5-9, or Clinically significant 10-27. Scores from 10-27 are clinically significant and warrant professional attention; scores of 15 or higher indicate a very high likelihood of a depressive condition.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each item offers four frequency choices-Not at all, Several days, More than half the days, and Nearly every day-anchored to the previous two weeks. In this online version, choices score from 0 through 3, and the nine scores are summed. The total summarizes all responses but should not obscure any answer indicating thoughts of death or self-harm. A PHQ-9 screening questionnaire is most useful when answers are direct and time-specific.

The published PHQ-9 is a brief self-report measure developed from the PRIME-MD system and examined in primary care research. The broader PHQ format and later monitoring studies support its evidence base, but do not separately validate this online administration or establish its page-specific performance.

Interpretation should consider symptom severity, current circumstances, self-awareness, recall, and openness; results may change over time. Read the total as a measure of symptom frequency, while giving separate attention to individual responses, especially thoughts of death or self-harm.