Depression Test
Based on the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), the most widely used depression screening tool in primary care. Nine questions, one clear signal.
Over the past 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following?
1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things
2. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
3. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
4. Feeling tired or having little energy
5. Poor appetite or overeating
6. Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down
7. Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television
8. Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed? Or the opposite — being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual
9. Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way
About This Screener
This screener reproduces the PHQ-2 (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), developed by Kroenke, Spitzer, and Williams (2001). The PHQ-2 is the standard first-step depression screener used in primary care worldwide. A score of 3 or higher has been validated as the optimal cutoff for further evaluation.
If you screen positive, the recommended next step is a full depression assessment using the PHQ-9 or a clinical interview. A negative screen does not rule out depression, especially if symptoms have been present for less than 2 weeks.