Home1
Psychological tests2
Marital Conflict Diagnostic Questionnaire3

Marital Conflict Diagnostic Questionnaire Test

Understand how serious your relationship conflicts are and where they come from in about 10 minutes. Get clear insights to guide focused counseling, including personal and cross cultural tension points.

Start Online Test

Questions: 5010 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

30,865 views

2,812 completions

2,374 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

3/5

Cognitive Needs (CN)

Measures how well spouses align in intellectual interests, curiosity, and preferences for learning and discussion.

Aligned

Some tension

Marked mismatch

0 – 1: Aligned | 2 – 3: Some tension | 4 – 5: Marked mismatch

A score of 3 suggests noticeable differences in cognitive interests or expectations that can occasionally become a source of tension.

example score

2/5

Self-Concept Defense (SCD)

Measures the degree to which marital conflicts center on protecting self-esteem and self-respect between spouses.

Low tension

Moderate tension

High tension

0 – 1: Low tension | 2 – 3: Moderate tension | 4 – 5: High tension

A score of 2 suggests a moderate level of self-concept sensitivity in the relationship, where conflicts may sometimes involve feeling undervalued or needing affirmation.

example score

3/5

Mutual Understanding (MU)

Measures how easily spouses reach agreement and feel supported by each other, with higher scores indicating more difficulty achieving mutual understanding.

Good understanding

Mixed understanding

Low understanding

0 – 1: Good understanding | 2 – 3: Mixed understanding | 4 – 5: Low understanding

A score of 3 falls in the Mixed understanding range, suggesting mutual understanding is inconsistent and may be harder to maintain across everyday situations.

example score

3/5

Personal Traits (PT)

Measures how much spouses’ individual personality traits and habitual styles contribute to conflict in the marriage.

Low impact

Moderate impact

High impact

0 – 1: Low impact | 2 – 3: Moderate impact | 4 – 5: High impact

A score of 3 suggests a moderate contribution of personal qualities to relationship tension, with some personality differences likely playing a noticeable role in conflicts.

example score

2/5

Roles (R)

Measures how much spouses agree on the distribution of family roles and responsibilities, where higher scores reflect more role-related tension.

Low tension

Moderate tension

High tension

0 – 1: Low tension | 2 – 3: Moderate tension | 4 – 5: High tension

A score of 2 suggests a moderate level of role-related tension, indicating some areas where expectations about responsibilities may not fully align.

example score

3/5

Material Needs (MN)

Measures the degree of agreement between spouses on financial matters and material provision as a potential source of tension.

Low tension

Moderate tension

High tension

0 – 1: Low tension | 2 – 3: Moderate tension | 4 – 5: High tension

A score of 3 falls in the Moderate tension range, suggesting some recurring disagreements about finances or material needs that may benefit from clarification and negotiation.

example score

3/5

Communication Culture (CC)

This scale measures the degree of mutual respect and courtesy in spouses’ everyday communication, where higher scores suggest more frequent communication difficulties.

Respectful communication

Occasional tension

Frequent difficulties

0 – 1: Respectful communication | 2 – 3: Occasional tension | 4 – 5: Frequent difficulties

A score of 3 falls in the “Occasional tension” range, suggesting that courtesy and mutual respect are generally present but may break down in certain situations and contribute to conflict.

example score

3/5

Relationships With Parents (RWP)

Assesses how much conflict in the couple is linked to interactions with parents and other relatives.

Low tension

Moderate tension

High tension

0 – 1: Low tension | 2 – 3: Moderate tension | 4 – 5: High tension

A score of 3 suggests a moderate level of tension with parents or relatives that may contribute to marital disagreements at times.

example score

4/5

Leisure (L)

Measures the degree of agreement and tension between spouses around how leisure time is planned and spent together.

Aligned

Some differences

Frequent disagreements

0 – 1: Aligned | 2 – 3: Some differences | 4 – 5: Frequent disagreements

A score of 4 suggests frequent disagreements or dissatisfaction about how you spend free time together, making leisure a likely source of tension.

example score

1/5

Awareness (A)

Measures how well spouses are informed about each other’s daily affairs and interests, where higher scores suggest more informational gaps and potential misunderstandings.

Well-informed

Some gaps

Marked gaps

0 – 1: Well-informed | 2 – 3: Some gaps | 4 – 5: Marked gaps

A score of 1 falls in the “Well-informed” range, indicating generally good mutual awareness with minimal informational gaps.

example score

36/50

Wife Conflict Index (WCI)

The Conflict Index Kzh measures the overall intensity of the wife's conflict behavior across areas of marital interaction.

Low conflict

Moderate conflict

High conflict

0 – 16: Low conflict | 17 – 33: Moderate conflict | 34 – 50: High conflict

A score of 36 falls in the High conflict range, suggesting a generally elevated level of conflict behavior from the wife's side across multiple interaction areas.

Start Online Test

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Couples in frequent arguments

41%OF USERS

Partners who argue often take it to quickly see how severe the conflicts are and which topics trigger them most.

Spouses starting counseling

34%OF USERS

People preparing for or already in therapy use it to map problem areas and set clear goals for improving communication.

Intercultural marriage partners

25%OF USERS

Couples from different cultural or national backgrounds take it to separate personal incompatibilities from culture-related misunderstandings.

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.

Cognitive Needs (CN)

Average

3.5

Normal range

2.7 — 4.2

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.

Protecting the Self-Concept (PtS)

Average

3.2

Normal range

2.3 — 4

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.

Mutual Understanding (MU)

Average

3.5

Normal range

2.8 — 4.2

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.

Personal qualities (Pq)

Average

1.9

Normal range

1.1 — 2.7

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.

Roles (R)

Average

1.6

Normal range

0.8 — 2.4

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.

Material Needs (MN)

Average

2.1

Normal range

1.2 — 2.9

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.

Culture of communication (Coc)

Average

Normal range

1.1 — 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.

Relationships with Parents (RwP)

Average

2.5

Normal range

1.8 — 3.2

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.

Leisure (L)

Average

2.4

Normal range

1.7 — 3.1

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.

Awareness (A)

Average

Normal range

2.2 — 3.7

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.

Conflict Index Kzh (CIK)

Average

30.7

Normal range

24.5 — 37

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.

Start Online Test

Featured On

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- This does not apply to me
- No, it does not concern me
- Yes, but it concerns me only slightly
- Yes, it definitely concerns me
- Yes, it concerns me a lot
- Yes, it concerns me extremely
- This does not apply to me
- No, it does not bother me
- Yes, but it bothers me only a little
- Yes, this definitely bothers me
- Yes, this bothers me a lot
- Yes, this bothers me extremely
- This does not apply to me
- No, it does not bother me
- Yes, but it bothers me only a little
- Yes, it definitely bothers me
- Yes, it bothers me a lot
- Yes, it bothers me extremely

These are 3 of the 50 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

Start Online Test

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Methodology for Diagnosing Marital Conflicts Test

Marital Conflict Diagnostic Questionnaire Test - Symptoms and Signs

behavior in conflict

family adaptation

family

This questionnaire is used to characterize areas of tension and disagreement within an intimate partnership. The Marital Conflict Diagnostic Questionnaire provides a structured, self-report snapshot of perceived conflict patterns that may inform clinical case formulation.

It contains 50 items and typically takes about 10 minutes to complete. Items focus on the frequency and context of disagreements, and may help identify domains associated with interpersonal differences as well as conflicts related to cultural or ethnic background in some couples. The Marital Conflict Diagnostic Questionnaire is intended to support, not replace, a comprehensive clinical interview; interpretation should consider relationship context and other assessment data. Authorship is attributed to John M. Gottman.

Author: John M. Gottman

Literature: Gottman, J. M. What predicts divorce? The relationship between marital processes and marital outcomes. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1994.