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Brief Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (BRFL-A)3

Brief Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (BRFL-A) Test

Understand what keeps you choosing life in hard moments in about 6 minutes. This 32 item check-in pinpoints your key supports and values to guide care and strengthen coping.

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Questions: 326 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

24,928 views

2,648 completions

2,143 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

5/6

Family Alliance (FA)

Measures how strongly family bonds, values, and family-based coping serve as a protective reason for living.

Low family support

High family support

1 – 3.82: Low family support | 3.83 – 6: High family support

A score of 5 indicates that family relationships and shared values are a strong, accessible source of support and anti-suicidal motivation for you.

example score

3/6

Fear of Suicide (FoS)

Measures the degree of negative emotional activation and fear response when suicidal thoughts or images arise.

Lower fear response

Higher fear response

1 – 4.18: Lower fear response | 4.19 – 6: Higher fear response

A score of 3 falls in the Lower fear response range, suggesting relatively less emotional fear activation in response to suicidal thoughts or images.

example score

4/6

Optimistic Future (OF)

Measures interest in life, a positive self-attitude, and optimism and planning regarding the future.

Low

Moderate to high

1 – 3.95: Low | 3.96 – 6: Moderate to high

A score of 4 indicates a moderate-to-high level of optimistic future orientation, suggesting generally positive expectations and some future planning as reasons for living.

example score

4/6

Self-Acceptance (SA)

Measures the degree of self-acceptance and positive self-regard at the present moment.

Low

Moderate

1 – 3.36: Low | 3.37 – 6: Moderate

A score of 4 indicates a moderate level of self-acceptance and generally positive self-regard right now.

example score

3/6

Friend Support (FS)

This scale reflects the extent to which acceptance and support from friends serve as a coping resource when suicidal thoughts or distress arise.

Low support

High support

1 – 3.54: Low support | 3.55 – 6: High support

A score of 3 indicates relatively low perceived support from friends as a protective resource in difficult moments.

example score

5/6

Life Affirmation (LA)

Assesses overall affirmation of life, reflecting a general absence of suicidal motives and low suicidal mood in adolescents.

Low life affirmation

High life affirmation

1 – 3.42: Low life affirmation | 3.43 – 6: High life affirmation

A score of 5 falls in the High life affirmation range, indicating generally strong reasons for living and a low presence of suicidal motives on this scale.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Teens feeling overwhelmed

41%OF USERS

Adolescents dealing with intense stress, sadness, or hopelessness use it to identify what still keeps them connected to life.

Therapy and crisis clients

34%OF USERS

People already seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist take it to clarify protective factors and guide a safety and support plan.

Concerned family supporters

25%OF USERS

Parents or close relatives encourage someone at risk to complete it to better understand what sources of support matter most.

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.

Family Union (FU)

Average

3.9

Normal range

3.2 — 4.7

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.

Fear of Suicide (FoS)

Average

2.6

Normal range

1.9 — 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.

Optimistic future (Of)

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.

Self-Acceptance (S)

Average

Normal range

2.2 — 3.8

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.

Support from friends (Sff)

Average

4.1

Normal range

3.4 — 4.7

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.

Affirmation of Life (AoL)

Average

4.2

Normal range

3.4 — 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.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Many people have thought about suicide at least once in their lives. Others have never considered it as an option. Listed below are reasons why people sometimes do NOT die by suicide. The purpose of this questionnaire is to determine how important each reason is to you personally. Please rate the statements using the scale provided.

- Not at all important
- Not important
- Almost not important
- Slightly important
- Important
- Very important
- Not at all important
- Not important
- Almost not important
- Slightly important
- Important
- Very important
- Not at all important
- Not important
- Almost not important
- Slightly important
- Important
- Very important

These are 3 of the 32 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

Brief Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (BRFL-A) Test - Symptoms and Signs

suicidal risk

vital motivation

This self-report measure assesses adolescents’ perceived reasons for continuing to live, with attention to protective beliefs, perceived responsibilities, and other factors that may buffer against suicidal thoughts and behavior. The Brief Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (BRFL-A) is typically used as an adjunct to suicide risk assessment and case formulation rather than as a stand-alone indicator of risk.

The measure contains 32 items and generally takes about 6 minutes to complete. Results are commonly interpreted in conjunction with clinical interview data and other relevant measures to help identify salient protective factors and guide treatment planning.

In clinical and research settings, the Brief Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (BRFL-A) can support discussion of coping resources, supports, and future-oriented motivations, and may help clinicians target interventions toward strengthening identified protective domains.

Author: Marsha M. Linehan

Literature: Linehan, M. M., Goodstein, J. L., Nielsen, S. L., & Chiles, J. A. Reasons for staying alive when you are thinking of killing yourself: the reasons for living inventory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1983.; Osman, A., Downs, W. R., Kopper, B. A., Barrios, F. X., Baker, M. T., & Osman, J. R. The reasons for living inventory for adolescents (RFL-A): development and psychometric properties. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1996.; Joiner, T. E. Why people die by suicide. Harvard University Press. 2005.