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Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ)3

Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) Test

Understand how well you identify and describe your emotions in about 5 minutes. A 24 item check of positive and negative feelings that supports clearer communication and better treatment planning.

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Questions: 245 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

28,977 views

3,037 completions

2,297 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

129/168

Overall Alexithymia (OA)

Measures overall difficulty identifying, evaluating, and expressing both negative and positive emotions.

Lower alexithymia

Moderate alexithymia

Higher alexithymia

24 – 71: Lower alexithymia | 72 – 119: Moderate alexithymia | 120 – 168: Higher alexithymia

A score of 129 falls in the Higher alexithymia range, indicating pronounced difficulty attending to, making sense of, and putting words to emotional experiences.

example score

10/56

Negative-Difficulty Identifying Feelings (N-DIF) (NDIFD)

Measures how difficult it is to identify, understand, and distinguish your own negative emotions.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

0 – 18: Low difficulty | 19 – 37: Moderate difficulty | 38 – 56: High difficulty

A score of 10 suggests low difficulty identifying and differentiating negative feelings, with generally clear awareness of negative emotional states.

example score

30/56

Positive Difficulty Identifying Feelings (P-DIF) (PDIFD)

Measures how difficult it is to identify, understand, and differentiate your own positive emotions.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

0 – 18: Low difficulty | 19 – 37: Moderate difficulty | 38 – 56: High difficulty

A score of 30 indicates a moderate level of difficulty recognizing and clearly distinguishing positive feelings.

example score

28/56

Negative-Difficulty Describing Feelings (N-DDF) (NDDFD)

Measures difficulty describing and verbally expressing one’s own negative emotions.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

0 – 18: Low difficulty | 19 – 37: Moderate difficulty | 38 – 56: High difficulty

A score of 28 falls in the Moderate difficulty range, suggesting some challenges putting negative feelings into words while still being able to describe them at times.

example score

28/56

Positive Difficulty Describing Feelings (P-DDF) (PDDFD)

Measures how difficult it is for a person to describe and communicate their own positive emotions in words.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

0 – 18: Low difficulty | 19 – 37: Moderate difficulty | 38 – 56: High difficulty

A score of 28 indicates a moderate level of difficulty putting positive feelings into words and conveying them clearly.

example score

16/56

Externally Oriented Thinking (G-EOT) (EOTE)

Measures the tendency to focus attention away from one’s own emotions and toward external events or practical details.

Low externally-oriented thinking

Moderate externally-oriented thinking

High externally-oriented thinking

8 – 23: Low externally-oriented thinking | 24 – 39: Moderate externally-oriented thinking | 40 – 56: High externally-oriented thinking

A score of 16 falls in the low range, suggesting you are relatively likely to notice and reflect on your emotions rather than consistently focusing outward.

example score

40/56

Difficulty Identifying Feelings (G-DIF) (DIFD)

Measures how difficult it is to identify, understand, and differentiate your own emotions (both negative and positive).

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 18: Low | 19 – 37: Moderate | 38 – 56: High

A score of 40 falls in the High range, suggesting pronounced difficulty recognizing and distinguishing your feelings across positive and negative emotions.

example score

35/56

Difficulty Describing Feelings (G-DDF) (DDFD)

Assesses how difficult it is to put one’s emotions into words, for both negative and positive feelings.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

0 – 18: Low difficulty | 19 – 37: Moderate difficulty | 38 – 56: High difficulty

A score of 35 falls in the Moderate difficulty range, suggesting noticeable but not extreme challenges describing and expressing emotions in words.

example score

22/56

Negative Difficulty Appraising Feelings (N-DAF) (NDAFD)

Measures how difficult it is to identify and describe your own negative emotions.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

0 – 18: Low difficulty | 19 – 37: Moderate difficulty | 38 – 56: High difficulty

A score of 22 falls in the Moderate difficulty range, suggesting some challenges recognizing and putting negative feelings into words.

example score

49/56

Positive Difficulty Appraising Feelings (P-DAF) (PDAFD)

Assesses how difficult it is to identify and describe one’s own positive emotions.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

0 – 18: Low difficulty | 19 – 37: Moderate difficulty | 38 – 56: High difficulty

A score of 49 falls in the High difficulty range, suggesting notable challenges recognizing and putting positive feelings into words.

example score

52/112

Difficulty Appraising Feelings (G-DAF) (DAFD)

Assesses overall difficulty identifying and describing both negative and positive feelings.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

16 – 47: Low difficulty | 48 – 79: Moderate difficulty | 80 – 112: High difficulty

A score of 52 falls in the Moderate difficulty range, suggesting noticeable but not severe challenges recognizing and expressing feelings overall.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People who feel emotionally stuck

41%OF USERS

They often sense something is wrong but struggle to name or explain what they feel, especially under stress.

Therapy and counseling clients

34%OF USERS

They take it to clarify patterns in identifying and describing emotions so treatment goals can be more targeted.

Students and research participants

25%OF USERS

They complete it as part of a study or screening to measure emotional awareness for both positive and negative feelings.

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.

Overall Level of Alexithymia (OLoA)

Average

127.3

Normal range

108 — 146.6

min.

max.

168

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.

Identification of Negative Feelings (N-DIF) (IoNF()

Average

26.7

Normal range

17.7 — 35.7

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.

Identification of Positive Feelings (P-DIF) (IoPF()

Average

31.6

Normal range

24.1 — 39

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.

Description of Negative Feelings (N-DDF) (DoNF()

Average

23.8

Normal range

13.7 — 33.9

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.

Description of Positive Feelings (P-DDF) (DoPF()

Average

36.9

Normal range

29 — 44.8

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.

Externally-Oriented Thinking (G-EOT) (ET()

Average

37.5

Normal range

31.6 — 43.3

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.

Difficulties with Identification (G-DIF) (DwI()

Average

32.4

Normal range

23.4 — 41.5

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.

Difficulties with Description (G-DDF) (DwD()

Average

Normal range

15.5 — 36.4

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.

Assessment of Negative Feelings (N-DAF) (AoNF()

Average

33.1

Normal range

24.8 — 41.4

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.

Assessment of Positive Feelings (P-DAF) (AoPF()

Average

38.9

Normal range

31.7 — 46.1

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.

Assessment of All Feelings (G-DAF) (AoAF()

Average

Normal range

48.5 — 83.4

min.

max.

112

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

This questionnaire is designed to assess how emotions are perceived and experienced. Please rate the following statements according to the extent to which you agree or disagree that each statement is true for you. Some statements refer to negative or unpleasant emotions, such as sadness, anger, or fear. Other statements refer to positive or pleasant emotions, such as happiness, amusement, or joyful excitement.

- Strongly disagree
- ...
- ...
- Neither agree nor disagree
- ...
- ...
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- ...
- ...
- Neither agree nor disagree
- ...
- ...
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- ...
- ...
- Neither agree nor disagree
- ...
- ...
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 24 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

Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) Test - Symptoms and Signs

alexithymia

autism

This measure assesses individual differences in alexithymia, including difficulties identifying and describing one’s own emotions across positive and negative affect. The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) is a self-report instrument developed by James N. D. Parker, David Preece, and Graeme J. Taylor.

The instrument contains 24 items and typically requires about 5 minutes to complete. It is intended for use in clinical and research settings to support screening and characterization of emotion awareness and expression; results are generally interpreted in conjunction with other assessment data and clinical judgment.

The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) yields information relevant to key components of alexithymia, such as difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and related features of emotional processing.

Author: David Preece, Graeme J. Taylor, James N. D. Parker

Literature: Taylor, G. J., Bagby, R. M., & Parker, J. D. A. Disorders of affect regulation: Alexithymia in medical and psychiatric illness. Cambridge University Press. 1997.; Preece, D., Becerra, R., Robinson, K., Dandy, J., & Allan, A. The psychometric assessment of alexithymia: Development and validation of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire. Personality and Individual Differences. 2018.; Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D. A., & Taylor, G. J. The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale—I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 1994.; Preece, D., Mehta, A., Petrova, K., Sikka, P., Bjureberg, J., Chen, W., Becerra, R., Allan, A., Robinson, K., & Gross, J. J. The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S): A 6-item measure of alexithymia. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2023.