Ontological Security Test

Understand how securely you feel in yourself while staying connected to others in about 6 minutes. Get fast, actionable insight into autonomy, resilience, and growth barriers for coaching or clinical work.

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Questions: 306 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

17,151 view

1,072 completions

874 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

30/40

False Self (FS)

Measures the degree of ontological insecurity expressed as alienation and inauthentic or disconnected self-experience.

Low

Moderate

High

8 – 18: Low | 19 – 29: Moderate | 30 – 40: High

A score of 30 falls in the High range, suggesting a stronger tendency toward feeling disconnected from one’s authentic self and experiencing relationships or roles as less genuine.

example score

11/35

Autonomy (A)

Assesses personal independence, self-directed decision-making, and a felt sense of being an autonomous individual.

Low autonomy

Moderate autonomy

High autonomy

7 – 16: Low autonomy | 17 – 26: Moderate autonomy | 27 – 35: High autonomy

A score of 11 falls in the Low autonomy range, suggesting autonomy and internal freedom may be experienced as limited or inconsistent in everyday choices.

example score

14/40

Vital Interpersonal Contact (VIC)

Measures interest in other people, enjoyment of communication, and the ability to engage in trusting, dialogical relationships.

Low

Moderate

High

8 – 18: Low | 19 – 29: Moderate | 30 – 40: High

A score of 14 falls in the Low range, suggesting currently limited enjoyment of communication and less developed or less accessible trusting social connections.

example score

15/35

Vital Contact With the World (VCWtW)

Measures life satisfaction and the extent to which the world is experienced as a safe and reliable place.

Low vital connection

Moderate vital connection

High vital connection

7 – 16: Low vital connection | 17 – 25: Moderate vital connection | 26 – 35: High vital connection

A score of 15 falls in the Low vital connection range, suggesting reduced life satisfaction and a less stable sense of safety and reliability in the surrounding world.

example score

60/102

Overall Ontological Security (OOS)

Measures the degree to which a person experiences a stable sense of self while remaining openly connected with other people and the surrounding world.

Low

Moderate

High

-18 – 22: Low | 23 – 62: Moderate | 63 – 102: High

A score of 60 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a generally workable balance of autonomy and connectedness with some variability in how consistently this stability is felt.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Therapy and counseling clients

41%OF USERS

People in therapy who struggle with feeling secure in themselves while staying close and open to others use it to clarify inner stability and relationship patterns.

Coaching and self-growth seekers

34%OF USERS

Adults focused on personal development take it to understand how autonomy and connection affect their decisions, boundaries, and sense of direction.

Psychology students and trainees

25%OF USERS

Students and early-career specialists use it in learning or practice to quickly assess how someone experiences identity, safety, and openness to the world.

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.

False Self (FS)

Average

16.2

Normal range

10.5 — 21.9

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.

Autonomy (A)

Average

27.2

Normal range

23.5 — 30.8

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.

Vital Connections with People (VCwP)

Average

26.5

Normal range

22.6 — 30.5

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.

Vital Connections with the World (VCwtW)

Average

20.4

Normal range

16.8 — 24.1

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.

Overall Measure of Ontological Confidence (OMoOC)

Average

64.7

Normal range

48.9 — 80.5

min.

-18

max.

102

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

- Not true
- Mostly untrue
- Partly untrue
- Mostly true
- True
- Untrue
- Mostly untrue
- Partly untrue
- Mostly true
- True
- Untrue
- Mostly untrue
- Partly untrue
- Mostly true
- True

These are 3 of the 30 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

Ontological Security Test - Symptoms and Signs

autonomy

existential psychology

fulfillment

This self-report measure assesses perceived stability of the self and felt continuity in one’s engagement with others and the surrounding world. Ontological Security is commonly used to characterize the balance between personal autonomy and interpersonal connectedness in a clinically meaningful way. It includes 30 items and typically takes about 6 minutes to complete.

Items ask respondents to rate experiences related to identity coherence, openness to reality, and comfort with closeness and separation. Results from Ontological Security may help inform case formulation by highlighting areas of subjective vulnerability or resilience in how individuals experience their sense of self and relationships. The construct is often discussed in relation to existential and phenomenological perspectives (R. D. Laing).

Author: R. D. Laing

Literature: Beck, A. T., Emery, G., & Greenberg, R. L. Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective. Basic Books. 1985.; Kruglanski, A. W., & Webster, D. M. Motivated closing of the mind: “Seizing” and “freezing”. Psychological Review. 1996.