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Psychological Space Sovereignty Questionnaire (PSS)3

Psychological Space Sovereignty Questionnaire (PSS) Test

In 13 minutes, the Psychological Space Sovereignty Questionnaire (PSS) Test guides you through 67 yes-or-no questions about personal boundaries, autonomy, and experiences of control. Your result profiles autonomy, boundary protection, and the ability to assert personal needs, distinguishing outside control from reduced self-protection or disregard for your own boundaries while supporting self-reflection.

Questions: 6713 minutes

Psychological Space Sovereignty Questionnaire (PSS): sample question card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Sovereignty of ValuesSoV

Measures how freely a person can adhere to their own views, tastes, and worldview without adopting others’ beliefs under pressure.

example score-10/14

-10/14Low autonomyexample score

-14 – -1Low autonomy

0 – 14High autonomy

A score of -10 falls in the Low autonomy range, suggesting notable pressure or influence from others that can make it harder to maintain and act on personal values.

Sovereignty of Social ConnectionsSoSC

Measures how freely a person can choose their social circle and maintain relationships without external control or restrictions.

example score-3/7

-3/7Restrictedexample score

-7 – -1Restricted

0 – 7Balanced

A score of -3 suggests reduced autonomy in choosing and maintaining social connections, with some perceived external influence or limitations.

Sovereignty of HabitsSoH

Measures how confidently a person accepts and protects their daily routine and stable habits from external pressure.

example score-6/12

-6/12Low confidenceexample score

-12 – -1Low confidence

0Balanced

1 – 12High confidence

A score of -6 falls in the Low confidence range, suggesting the person may experience frequent outside influence on their usual routines and habits.

Sovereignty of the World of ThingsSotWoT

Measures how strongly a person recognizes and protects their right to control and be respected in relation to personal belongings.

example score4/13

4/13Moderateexample score

-13 – -1Low

0 – 13Moderate

A score of 4 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting generally adequate respect for personal property and the ability to assert control over belongings, with occasional boundary challenges possible.

Territorial SovereigntyTS

Territorial Confidence measures how safe and in control a person feels over their personal physical space and its boundaries.

example score2/10

2/10Clear boundariesexample score

-10 – 0Blurred boundaries

0 – 10Clear boundaries

A score of 2 suggests generally clear territorial boundaries with some room to strengthen consistency in maintaining control over personal space.

Physical Body SovereigntyPBS

Measures how protected and respected a person feels regarding their bodily boundaries against unwanted physical intrusions.

example score1/11

1/11High confidenceexample score

-11 – 0Low confidence

1 – 11High confidence

A score of 1 falls in the High confidence range, suggesting generally adequate comfort with bodily boundaries and basic readiness to uphold them when needed.

Psychological Space SovereigntyPSS

This scale measures how confidently a person maintains and protects their personal boundaries while meeting their needs.

example score-33/67

-33/67Low confidenceexample score

-67 – -1Low confidence

0 – 67High confidence

A score of -33 falls in the Low confidence range, suggesting reduced consistency in recognizing and defending personal boundaries when needs or pressures arise.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Workplace boundary builders

41%OF USERS

Employees and managers take it to understand how confidently they protect personal space, habits, and values at work.

Parents of teenagers

34%OF USERS

Parents use it to see where a teen’s boundaries are strong or fragile and how this affects family closeness and conflict.

Therapy and coaching clients

25%OF USERS

People in counseling or personal development take it to pinpoint which areas of their personal boundaries need strengthening.

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.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Confidence in valuesCiv

You?

Average-5.2

Typical rangeTypical-9.7 – -0.6

Possible-14 – 14

Confidence in Social ConnectionsCiSC

You?

Average-2.5

Typical rangeTypical-4.9 – -0.2

Possible-7 – 7

Confidence in HabitsCiH

You?

Average-1.9

Typical rangeTypical-6.2 – 2.4

Possible-12 – 12

Confidence in the World of ThingsCitWoT

You?

Average-6.3

Typical rangeTypical-10.8 – -1.8

Possible-13 – 13

Territorial ConfidenceTC

You?

Average-0.8

Typical rangeTypical-3.8 – 2.3

Possible-10 – 10

Physical Body ConfidencePBC

You?

Average-2.4

Typical rangeTypical-5.4 – 0.6

Possible-11 – 11

Confidence in the Psychological SpaceCitPS

You?

Average2.8

Typical rangeTypical-21.7 – 27.3

Possible-67 – 67

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You are asked to evaluate statements in a questionnaire that describes a person’s childhood. If the content of a statement applies to you, respond “Yes.” If you have not encountered similar situations in your life, respond “No.” If it is difficult to recall what actually occurred, indicate what you consider the most likely situation. This questionnaire does not assess intellectual ability; therefore, there are no right or wrong answers, and each response option occurs in real life. Please try not to spend too much time thinking about each item.

- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No

These are 3 of the 67 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Psychological Space Sovereignty Questionnaire (PSS) Test - Description and methodology of the test

autonomy

boundaries

family

People seeking to understand where independence is supported or constrained may use the Psychological Space Sovereignty Questionnaire (PSS) Test as a self-report. It is relevant when relationships, routines, possessions, or bodily contact raise questions about personal limits. The result provides a multidomain personal sovereignty profile of autonomy, boundary protection, and ability to assert personal needs alongside an overall result, distinguishing outside control from reduced self-protection or disregard for one’s own boundaries.

What This Assessment Explores

Yes-or-no items revisit childhood experiences of rules, relationships, possessions, routines, privacy, touch, and choice. The seven displayed scales cover:

Sovereignty of Values (-14-14) shows autonomy in values: Low autonomy -14--1; High autonomy 0-14.
Sovereignty of Social Connections (-7-7) shows social freedom: Restricted -7--1; Balanced 0-7.
Sovereignty of Habits (-12-12) shows routine autonomy: Low confidence -12--1; Balanced 0-0; High confidence 1-12.
Sovereignty of the World of Things (-13-13) shows respect for belongings: Low -13--1; Moderate 0-13.
Territorial Sovereignty (-10-10) shows physical-space control: Blurred boundaries -10-0; Clear boundaries 0-10.
Physical Body Sovereignty (-11-11) shows bodily-boundary protection: Low confidence -11-0; High confidence 1-11.
Psychological Space Sovereignty (-67-67) shows personal-needs protection: Low confidence -67--1; High confidence 0-67.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each statement asks for Yes or No and describes a remembered situation involving control, permission, intrusion, or choice. Responses combine into domain scores and an overall result. The displayed ranges and bands describe the result format, but the questionnaire does not state how answers are weighted, so points should not be inferred from a range.

Conceptually, the questionnaire is consistent with the Personal Sovereignty Questionnaire-2010, which treats the construct as protection and control of meaningful boundaries. Nartova-Bochaver’s related work and Altman’s account of privacy and territorial regulation provide theoretical context.

Interpretation of this personal boundaries assessment should follow the pattern across domains and the situations behind the answers. Higher results generally indicate greater autonomy or protected boundaries within the stated definitions; lower results point toward pressure, restriction, or weaker protection.

The displayed bands are descriptive for this online form, and validation of the related published instrument should not be presented as validation of this online form; self-report may shift with memory, mood, current context, and self-awareness, so scores describe reported tendencies rather than their causes or a clinical diagnosis.

Author: Irwin Altman

Literature:

Nartova-Bochaver, S. K. (2014). The revised version of the Personal Sovereignty Questionnaire-2010. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal, 35(3), 105-119.
Nartova-Bochaver, S. (2014). The personal sovereignty as a boundaries phenomenon. Personality and Individual Differences, 60(Supplement), S44. 10.1016/j.paid.2013.07.126
Nartova-Bochaver, S. K. (2004). The questionnaire “Sovereignty of Psychological Space”: A new method for personality diagnosis. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal, 25(5), 77-89.
Altman, I. (1975). The Environment and Social Behavior: Privacy, Personal Space, Territory, and Crowding. Brooks/Cole.

Updated: 2025-10-02