MHA Screening is a collection of free, confidential, and scientifically validated mental health screening tools. The resources on this page help explain how each screening tool (test) was developed, which populations it has been validated for, and under which conditions it may be reproduced (if any).
Click on the name of a test to learn more, or simply scroll down the page.
- Addiction Test
- ADHD Test
- Anxiety Test
- Bipolar Test
- Depression Test
- Postpartum Depression Test (New and Expecting Parents)
- Eating Disorder Test
- Parent Test: Your Child’s Mental Health
- Psychosis Test
- PTSD Test
- Youth Mental Health Test
For information about mental health testing in general:
About mental health tests
Addiction Test: CAGE-AID
- Brown RL, Rounds, LA. Conjoint screening questionnaires for alcohol and other drug abuse: criterion validity in a primary care practice. Wisconsin Medical Journal 1995:94(3) 135-140.
http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/7778330 - Couwenbergh, C., Van Der Gaag, R. J., Koeter, M., De Ruiter, C., & Van den Brink, W. (2009). Screening for substance abuse among adolescents validity of the CAGE-AID in youth mental health care. Substance use & misuse 44(6), 823-834.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10826080802484264#.VlM6ZnarTct
ADHD Test: Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) v1.1
The ASRS v1.1 has been validated for adults as well as adolescents ages 13 and up. We use v1.1, rather than the DSM-5 version, because v1.1 has been evaluated more rigorously for reliability and validity, especially with adolescent populations.
- Kessler, R. C. et al. (2005). The World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): a short screening scale for use in the general population. Psychological medicine, 35(2), 245–256. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291704002892
- Adler, L. A., & Newcorn, J. H. (2011). Administering and evaluating the results of the adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) in adolescents. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 72(6), e20. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.10081tx2c
- Adler, L.A. et al. (2012). Preliminary Examination of the Reliability and Concurrent Validity of the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Scale v1.1 Symptom Checklist to Rate Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology 22(3), pp. 238-244. http://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2011.0062
- Green, J.G., et al. (2019). Evidence for the reliability and preliminary validity of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale v1.1 (ASRS v1.1) Screener in an adolescent community sample. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 28(1), p. 1751. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1751
Anxiety Test: Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7
- Ruiz, M. A., Zamorano, E., García-Campayo, J., Pardo, A., Freire, O., & Rejas, J. (2011). Validity of the GAD-7 scale as an outcome measure of disability in patients with generalized anxiety disorders in primary care. Journal of affective disorders 128(3), 277-286.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016503271000491X - Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Archives of internal medicine 166(10), 1092-1097.
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=410326 - Löwe, B., Decker, O., Müller, S., Brähler, E., Schellberg, D., Herzog, W., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2008). Validation and standardization of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7) in the general population. Medical care 46(3), 266-274.http://journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/Abstract/2008/03000/Validation_and_Standardization_of_the_Generalized.6.aspx
Bipolar Test: Mood Disorder Questionnaire
- Hirschfeld, R. M., Holzer, C., Calabrese, J. R., Weissman, M., Reed, M., Davies, M., … & Hazard, E. (2014). Validity of the mood disorder questionnaire: a general population study. American Journal of Psychiatry 2003 160(1), 178-180
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.1.178
- Hirschfeld, Robert M.A., M.D., Janet B.W. Williams, D.S.W., Robert L. Spitzer, M.D., Joseph R. Calabrese, M.D., Laurie Flynn, Paul E. Keck, Jr., M.D., Lydia Lewis, Susan L. McElroy, M.D., Robert M. Post, M.D., Daniel J. Rapport, M.D., James M. Russell, M.D., Gary S. Sachs, M.D., John Zajecka, M.D., “Development and Validation of a Screening Instrument for Bipolar Spectrum Disorder: The Mood Disorder Questionnaire.” American Journal of Psychiatry 157:11 (November 2000) 1873-1875.
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ajp.157.11.1873
Depression Test: Patient Health Questionnaire -9
- Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. (2001). The Phq‐9. Journal of general internal medicine 16(9), 606-613.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x/pdf - Martin, A., Rief, W., Klaiberg, A., & Braehler, E. (2006). Validity of the brief patient health questionnaire mood scale (PHQ-9) in the general population. General hospital psychiatry 28(1), 71-77.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163834305001179 - Arroll, B., Goodyear-Smith, F., Crengle, S., Gunn, J., Kerse, N., Fishman, T., … & Hatcher, S. (2010). Validation of PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 to screen for major depression in the primary care population. The Annals of Family Medicine 8(4), 348-353.
http://www.annfammed.org/content/8/4/348.short
Postpartum Depression Test (New and Expecting Parents): Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
- Cox, J.L., Holden, J.M., and Sagovsky, R. 1987. Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry 150:782-786.
- K. L. Wisner, B. L. Parry, C. M. Piontek, Postpartum Depression N Engl J Med vol. 347, No 3, July 18, 2002, 194-199
Eating Disorder Test: Stanford-Washington University Eating Disorder Screen (SWED)
- The Stanford-Washington University Eating Disorder Screen (SWED) is developed by Drs. C. Barr Taylor, Katherine Balantekin, Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, Andrea Kass, Mickey Trockel, and Denise Wilfley and was made possible by grant funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH081125 and R01 MH100455). Validation research in progress.
Parent Test: Your Child’s Mental Health: Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) Parent 17
- Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC): 1988, M. Jellinek & J.M. Murphy, Massachusetts General Hospital and Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health, 2002. For more information visit https://www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/treatments-and-services/pediatric-symptom-checklist/
Psychosis Test: Prodromal Questionnaire Brief (PQ-B)
- Loewy, R. L., Pearson, R., Vinogradov, S., Bearden, C. E., & Cannon, T. D. (2011). Psychosis risk screening with the Prodromal Questionnaire—brief version (PQ-B). Schizophrenia Research 129(1), 42-46.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920996411001770
PTSD Test: Primary Care – PTSD
- Prins, A., Bovin, M. J., Kimerling, R., Kaloupek, D. G, Marx, B. P., Pless Kaiser, A., & Schnurr, P. P. (2015). Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5) Measurement instrument]. Available from https://www.ptsd.va.gov
- Cameron, R. P., & Gusman, D. (2003). The primary care PTSD screen (PC-PTSD): development and operating characteristics. Primary Care Psychiatry 9(1), 9-14. https://doi.org/10.1185/135525703125002360
- U.S. Department for Veterans Affairs. Primary Care PTSD Screen (PC-PTSD).
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/screens/pc-ptsd.asp
Youth Mental Health Test: Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC – 35)
- M. Jellinek & J.M. Murphy, Massachusetts General Hospital and Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health, 2002. For more information visit https://www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/treatments-and-services/pediatric-symptom-checklist/
- Jellinek, M. S., Murphy, J. M., Little, M., Pagano, M. E., Comer, D. M., & Kelleher, K. J. (1999). Use of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist to screen for psychosocial problems in pediatric primary care: a national feasibility study. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine 153(3), 254-260.
http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=345702