Mental Health Inventory-5
5-item mental health screening measure derived from the RAND SF-36 (items 9b, 9c, 9d, 9f, 9h). Assesses psychological well-being and distress over the past 4 weeks. 6-point frequency scale (1=All of the time to 6=None of the time). Items 1, 2, 4 (anxiety/depression) are reverse-scored; items 3, 5 (positive affect) are forward-scored. Score range 5–30; lower scores indicate worse mental health. Widely used as a brief mental health screener.
Purpose
Self-report research instrument, reproduced here under an open license for non-diagnostic educational, research, and self-reflection use.
Details
License: Public Domain (https://www.rand.org/health-care/surveys_tools/mos/36-item-short-form.html). Citation: Berwick, D. M., Murphy, J. M., Goldman, P. A., Ware, J. E., Barsky, A. J., & Weinstein, M. C. (1991). Performance of a five-item mental health screening test. Medical Care, 29(2), 169–176. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005650-199102000-00008 This is not a diagnostic tool. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of self-harm, please contact a licensed mental health professional or a crisis helpline in your country immediately. Low/Moderate/High bands below reflect this test's own possible score range only (simple thirds) — they are NOT a clinical threshold or population norm. No such cutoff has been published for this instrument.
- 100% server-side scored
- Verifiable PDF report
- Research Instrument evidence status