Why our tests are the real instruments — not quizzes we made up

The internet is full of "mental health quizzes" invented by marketing teams. We don't make any. Every screening on HealthSurvey is a published, validated clinical instrument — the same questionnaires used in doctors' offices and research studies — reproduced faithfully, with the original scoring thresholds intact.

How we choose an instrument

For each topic, we select a screener that meets all of these criteria:

• Validated and peer-reviewed. It has published studies establishing its sensitivity, specificity, and cutoff scores.
• Freely usable. It is in the public domain or licensed for open clinical and educational use, so we can reproduce it exactly without altering items.
• Appropriate as a screen. It is designed to flag whether a fuller evaluation is warranted — not to diagnose. We never present a screen as a diagnosis.

That's why our depression test is the PHQ-9, our anxiety test is the GAD-7, our adult ADHD test is the WHO's ASRS v1.1, our autism screen is the AQ-10 recommended by NICE, and our OCD test is the OCI-R. Each page names its instrument and links its source.

How we score

We use each instrument's published scoring rules without modification. Where a test sums item scores (PHQ-9, GAD-7, OCI-R), we sum them. Where it counts symptoms above per-item thresholds (ASRS, AQ-10), we count them. The severity bands and cutoffs shown in your result are the ones defined in the original validation research — not numbers we picked to sound reassuring or alarming.

How we explain results

A score is only useful if you understand it. We translate each result into plain language: what the number means, what it doesn't, and what a sensible next step looks like. For screens that touch on self-harm, we always surface crisis resources. And every result repeats the same honest caveat — a screening is a starting point for a conversation with a qualified professional, never a substitute for one.

How we keep it current

Instruments and their evidence base evolve. We are engaging licensed clinicians to review each tool for accuracy of items, scoring, and interpretation, and to re-review it on a recurring schedule. The current review status is shown honestly on every test page — if a tool hasn't been reviewed yet, it says so.