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Online Depression Assessment Tests

Depression is a pervasive sense of sadness, hopelessness and general indifference that can seriously effect a person's everyday life. The state can be caused by any number of factors, both psychiatric and nonpsychiatric. If you feel you may be suffering from depression, several online resources offer screening tests to gauge your symptoms. Keep in mind that these tests are in no way clinically accurate and are meant only to provide an informal, unprofessional barometer of your symptoms. Receiving medium to severe results in an informal screening should prompt you to contact your doctor immediately. If you believe you are at risk for suicide, call "911."

  1. Mental Health America

    • The Mental Health America (MHA) homepage offers a free, anonymous and confidential online depression-screening test. The nine-question test asks participants to answer a series of questions gauging recent changes in sleep patterns, concentration, communication and self-worth. Mental Health America is a community-based network dedicated to helping American's live mentally healthier lives. The organization has more than 300 affiliates nationwide. Individuals can research their local MHA chapter by accessing the organizations affiliate directory on their homepage.

    Wakefield Self-Report

    • The Wakefield Self-Report Questionnaire gauges the severity of depression symptoms in a series of twelve questions. The test was invented by Dr. R. Philip Snaith, a psychiatry expert and lecturer at the University of Leeds. The test assigns point values to answers based on a numerical algorithm. Most depressed people score a 15 or above on the Wakefield test, where nondepressed people score between 0 and 14. Some high scores may be attained by individuals who are experiencing more serious emotional problems or even physical illness.

    Discovery Health

    • The website of the popular health-related television channel offers a 15-question survey that is intended to gauge broad, sweeping symptoms of both depression and anxiety. Symptoms analyzed by the test include interest in usual activities, crying frequency, agitation, restlessness and weight gain. Score results are offered against an index that ranks a person's depression from nonexistent to severe. The Discovery Health website also offers several online tools and fact sheets regarding strategies to battle depression, as well as links to message boards where people can discuss their personal experiences and efforts against depression.

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