Schizophrenia Test and Early Psychosis Indicator

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Test yourself for the early symptoms of the schizophrenia prodrome, which may appear before an individual becomes fully psychotic. This test takes account of both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

The Schizophrenia Test and Early Psychosis Indicator (STEPI, Version 2011.1) for Prodromal Syndromes and Psychosis is designed as a simple screening quiz to help identify symptoms of the schizophrenia prodrome before an individual becomes fully psychotic. Unlike other schizophrenia screening tests on the internet, the STEPI takes account of both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia while also testing for mitigating factors which can preclude a diagnosis of schizophrenia altogether.

Completing this Psychological Screening Test for Schizophrenia

This screening test consists of 17 questions about experiences that you may have in your daily life. For the most accurate results, you must be entirely honest in your response to all 17 questions in this test. (Please be sure to check the Additional Information and Note on Validity below.)

To answer the questions, please choose the button which corresponds to the answer that best describes your response to the statement. You should focus on your beliefs, feelings and experiences during the last 6 months.

Take the Schizophrenia Screening Quiz

Please note: This test will only be scored correctly if you answer each one of the questions. Please also check our disclaimer on psychological testing and our psychological testing privacy guarantee.

1. I have trouble speaking the words I want to say, or I am able to speak but other people have told me that what I say is incoherent.

2. I see or hear things that other people cannot see or hear.

3. I have had the experience of being completely unable to speak.

4. I sometimes have trouble distinguishing whether something I experience or perceive may be real or may only be part of my imagination or my dreams.

5. I have heard two or more voices conversing with one another in voices that other people would not be able to hear.

6. I think other people can sometimes read my mind, or I can read other’s minds.

7. I sometimes find that something interrupts or controls my thoughts, feelings, or actions.

8. I believe that someone may be planning to cause me harm, or may be about to cause me harm in the near future.

9. I believe I have special or supernatural gifts beyond my natural talents.

10. I sometimes feel completely unresponsive emotionally, as if I don’t feel anything.

11. I have heard one or more people mumbling or talking about my behaviour or my thoughts in voices that other people would not be able to hear.

12. I have difficulty getting myself organised to complete any kind of daily activity.

13. I think I may be able to predict what will happen in the future.

14. As a result of starting to have some of the experiences listed above, I have experienced significant problems with work, my relationships or social activities, or my ability to look after myself.

15. Some of the experiences listed above may have been due to my having used alcohol or drugs or taken prescription medications which I have been advised may alter my mood or behaviour.

16. I have been diagnosed with a medical condition which I have been advised may affect my mood or behaviour.

17. I have previously been diagnosed with a mental disorder that I have been told might account for the types of experiences above, or I believe that I may be experiencing such a disorder. This might include Schizoaffective Disorder and Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features, as well as Autistic Disorder or another Pervasive Developmental Disorder.


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About Scoring this Schizophrenia Questionnaire

Scoring for Questions 1-13:

  • 0 points No, not at all
  • 1 point Yes, slightly
  • 4 points Yes, somewhat or moderately
  • 12 points Yes, definitely

This yields a total maximum score of 156.

Question 14 is scored on the same scale but is used to adjudicate on whether a diagnosis of schizophrenia should be excluded; it is not included in the final total.

Questions 15, 16 and 17 are each scored as a binary choice and are again used to adjudicate on whether a diagnosis of schizophrenia should be excluded.

When your quiz is scored, one of four different information pages will appear to describe the results for scores in your range, along with further details of how your score was computed.

This quiz is sensitive to positive as well as negative prodromal symptoms, and it takes account of mitigating factors which ordinarily preclude (or at least complicate) a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.

Constructed with a forced-choice semantic interval question design, schizophrenia screening with the Schizophrenia Test and Early Psychosis Indicator (STEPI) is intended to avoid the pitfalls of central tendency bias as well as acquiescence bias, reflecting clinically relevant self-assessments of experiences that correlate directly with some (but not all) important DSM diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia and related psychotic symptoms.

Additional Information and Note on Validity

The Schizophrenia Test and Early Psychosis Indicator (STEPI) was developed by Dr Greg Mulhauser. Like most mental health screening tests you will find on the internet, this test has not been evaluated for validity in terms of sensitivity and specificity via comparison with a Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM (SCID). Therefore, this instrument should not be relied upon in any way as a diagnostic aid but should be used solely as a tool for increasing your own awareness of experiences which might, under the careful evaluation of a psychiatrist, be considered indicative of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.

Dr Greg Mulhauser, an experienced counsellor and psychotherapist, has also developed:

All clinical material on this site is peer reviewed by one or more clinical psychologists or other qualified mental health professionals. This specific article was originally published by on and was last reviewed or updated by Dr Greg Mulhauser, Managing Editor on .

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