Table 2. Wording of PHQ-9 Items.
Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems? (Please check one box for each item.)
| Not at all | Several days | More than half the days | Nearly everyday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things | □ | □ | □ | □ |
| 2. Feeling down, depressed or hopeless | □ | □ | □ | □ |
| 3. Trouble falling, staying asleep, or sleeping too mucha | □ | □ | □ | □ |
| 4. Feeling tired or having little energy | □ | □ | □ | □ |
| 5. Poor appetite or overeatinga | □ | □ | □ | □ |
| 6. Feeling bad about yourself – or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down | □ | □ | □ | □ |
| 7. Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television | □ | □ | □ | □ |
| 8. Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed, or the opposite - being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usuala | □ | □ | □ | □ |
| 9. Thoughts that you would be better off dead or hurting yourself in some way | □ | □ | □ | □ |
a
This bidirectional item has been noted as problematic because it measures the frequency with which two diametrically opposed symptoms has occurred, thus rendering it definitionally ambiguous.