Research version of PHQ-9 excluding suicidality item for general population studies. ≈ 2 min to complete. Free with attribution.
PHQ-8 (Patient Health Questionnaire-8) is a validated clinical instrument used to assess research version of phq-9 excluding suicidality item for general population studies.. It is most often used for research version of phq-9 excluding suicidality item for general population studies.. The instrument contains 8 items. Typical administration time is ≈ 2 min.
Source / attribution: Free to use with citation
Research version of PHQ-9 excluding suicidality item for general population studies. PHQ-8 is part of standard practice in this setting because it provides a structured, replicable assessment that can be tracked over time and compared across patients or visits.
Like all screening or assessment instruments, PHQ-8 is a structured aid — not a diagnostic test in isolation. Results should be interpreted alongside history, examination, and clinical context. Where a score crosses an actionable threshold, the next step is typically a more detailed clinical evaluation rather than a definitive diagnosis.
Answer all 8 items below to see your PHQ-8 score and interpretation.
Each item is scored on a 4-point scale (0–3). Your score updates live as you answer.
All scoring runs in your browser. No data is sent anywhere — close the tab and the answers are gone.
Sum all 8 items scored 0-3. Total range 0-24. Same cutoffs as PHQ-9 but max 24.
Scoring notes: Sum all 8 items scored 0-3. Total range 0-24. Same cutoffs as PHQ-9 but max 24.
The cutoffs below are drawn from the published validation literature. Always interpret in clinical context.
| Score range | Band | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | Minimal | None |
| 5–9 | Mild | Watchful waiting |
| 10–14 | Moderate | Consider treatment |
| 15–19 | Moderately Severe | Active treatment recommended |
| 20–24 | Severe | Immediate treatment |
This is an illustrative walkthrough, not a real patient. Follow the same four steps with your own answers — or use the live calculator at the top of this page.
Read each question and choose the response that best fits. Each response has a number next to it — that number is the item's score. The example below uses illustrative answers.
| # | Item | Example response | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little interest or pleasure in doing things | Several days | 1 |
| 2 | Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless | Several days | 1 |
| 3 | Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much | Several days | 1 |
| 4 | Feeling tired or having little energy | Several days | 1 |
| 5 | Poor appetite or overeating | Several days | 1 |
| 6 | Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down | Several days | 1 |
| 7 | Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television | Not at all | 0 |
| 8 | Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed; or being so fidgety or restless | Several days | 1 |
Add up all the item scores you noted in Step 1.
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 0 + 1 = 7
Find the row in the interpretation table whose range contains your total:
Total = 7 falls between 5 and 9 → Mild
Mild. Watchful waiting
A score is one input alongside history and examination. PHQ-8 supports clinical judgment — it does not replace it.
Psychometric figures are drawn from the validation literature and may vary across clinical populations and translations.
If PHQ-8 doesn't fit your context, related instruments in depression include:
| Scale | Measures | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHQ-2 | Ultra-brief depression screening for busy clinical settings. | 2 | ≈ 1 min |
| CES-D | 20-item screening test for depressive symptoms in the general population. | 20 | ≈ 5 min |
| HADS-D | 7-item depression subscale designed for hospital and clinical outpatient settings. | 7 | ≈ 2 min |
| SDS | 20-item self-report scale measuring affective, psychological, and somatic symptoms of depression. | 20 | ≈ 5 min |
| PHQ-9 | Severity of depression | 9 | ≈ 3 minutes |
| GAD-7 | Severity of generalized anxiety | 7 | ≈ 2 minutes |
| AUDIT | 10-item WHO screening tool for hazardous alcohol consumption and dependence. | 10 | ≈ 3 min |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | Annual stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation | 8 | — |
PHQ-8 (Patient Health Questionnaire-8) is a validated instrument that assesses research version of PHQ-9 excluding suicidality item for general population studies. It is designed for clinicians, medical students, evidence-synthesis researchers. It takes about 2 min to complete, and the 8 items are summed to produce a total score.
PHQ-8 typically takes about 2 min to administer. The exact duration varies a little depending on whether it is self-administered or completed with a clinician. Its brief format is part of what makes it practical for routine clinical use and for repeat administration when tracking change over time.
PHQ-8 contains 8 items. Item scores are summed to produce the total. Scores run from 0 to 24, grouped into 5 interpretation bands from ‘Minimal’ up to ‘Severe’.
On the PHQ-8 (total score 0–24), scores of 20–24 fall in the ‘Severe’ band — interpreted as: Immediate treatment. The full ladder is: 0–4 — Minimal: None.; 5–9 — Mild: Watchful waiting.; 10–14 — Moderate: Consider treatment.; 15–19 — Moderately Severe: Active treatment recommended.; 20–24 — Severe: Immediate treatment. A higher score reflects a more severe presentation, and crossing a cutoff is a prompt to step up assessment or care — but these bands are screening thresholds, not diagnoses.
Scores of 0–4 fall in the ‘Minimal’ band: None. A low score is reassuring but does not by itself rule out the underlying condition — if symptoms or clinical suspicion persist, reassess over time or use a complementary evaluation rather than relying on the number alone.
PHQ-8 has reported Cronbach's α of 0.88 in validation samples and test–retest reliability of 0.8. Comparable to PHQ-9 in detecting major depression. In practical terms, a Cronbach’s α around 0.88 indicates good internal consistency (the items hang together well), and a test–retest reliability of 0.8 means scores are strongly stable when the scale is repeated without real clinical change.
PHQ-8 is free to use with attribution — clinical, educational, and research use is permitted provided the original source is credited. If you publish results or reproduce the scale, include the citation to the source paper.
Kroenke, K., Strine, T. W., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B., Berry, J. T., & Mokdad, A. H. (2009). The PHQ-8 as a measure of current depression in the general population. Journal of Affective Disorders, 114(1-3), 163-173. This is the original publication for the PHQ-8 — the reference to cite when reporting results.
No. PHQ-8 is a structured assessment aid, not a diagnostic test. Its proper role is clinical assessment of research version of PHQ-9 excluding suicidality item for general population studies — it standardizes assessment and flags who needs closer evaluation, but the result must be weighed alongside history, examination, and clinical context. When a score conflicts with your clinical impression, clinical judgment takes precedence; treatment decisions should never rest on a screening score alone.
PHQ-8 is supported by the following peer-reviewed sources: