Updated November 12, 2026
Methodology: How Our Tests and Reports Work
BPD Test offers a 10-question screening test, a 32-question in-depth symptoms test and short checks in other languages. This page explains where the questions come from, how results are calculated, what the reports are based on and what none of them can tell you.
Summary
- The 10-question test uses the published MSI-BPD screening items and its original threshold of 7.
- The in-depth test uses 27 original questions written for this site.
- Reports are produced by fixed rules in your browser. Answers are not sent to our servers or to any AI service.
- No result is a diagnosis, a count of diagnostic criteria, a probability or a severity rating.
- Content is written by the editor from the sources listed on each page, and errors readers report are corrected.
The 10-question screening test
The screening test presents the ten yes-or-no items of the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD). Each Yes counts as one point. In the original validation study, a score of 7 or more identified people who warranted a fuller assessment, with a reported sensitivity of 0.81 and specificity of 0.85 in that sample.
That study involved adults who had histories of psychiatric treatment. Screening performance differs in other groups, languages and settings, so the figures are not a personal accuracy rate. Unanswered items are never counted as No, and no score is shown when an item is missing.
The in-depth symptoms test
The in-depth test has 27 questions, three for each of the nine symptom areas described in DSM-5-TR, followed by 5 questions about when the experiences began, where they appear, their effect on daily life and other things that could explain them. The questions were written for this site in plain language. They are not taken from a published instrument.
How the profile is calculated
- Each answer is scored from 0 (Never) to 4 (Almost always) for the past 12 months.
- An area's value is the average of its answered questions. An area needs at least two answers; otherwise it is shown as not having enough answers.
- Averages below 0.75 are labelled Rarely or never, below 1.75 Sometimes, below 2.75 Often, and 2.75 or above Very often.
- Up to three areas at Often or above are described as standing out. Self-harm and suicidal thoughts are never ranked; any such answer brings support information forward.
- Skipped questions are left out, never treated as Never. At least 14 questions must be answered.
- The profile does not add areas together, count criteria or produce an overall score.
How the report text is chosen
Every sentence in a report is written in advance and selected by rule. Which areas stand out decides which explanations and skills are shown first. Your answers about onset and setting decide how the pattern is described, and the other experiences you select decide which alternative explanations are opened. The skills are brief versions of techniques taught in dialectical behaviour therapy and related approaches; they are not a substitute for therapy.
Checks in other languages
The short checks in Bahasa Indonesia, Español, Deutsch, Nederlands, Français, Italiano and Polski ask one question for each symptom area. With a single question per area they are less detailed than the in-depth test. They do not store answers. The 10-question test in these languages uses ten yes-or-no questions written for this site, with no threshold.
Privacy by design
Scoring and report generation run entirely in your browser. Answers, scores and notes are not transmitted to us. Saving for later is off unless you turn it on, and it uses your browser's own storage. We count anonymous milestones, such as a test being started or finished, to understand whether the tests work; these never include answers. Read the privacy policy
Sources and editorial standards
- U.S. National Institute of Mental Health: Borderline Personality Disorder
- NICE guideline CG78: Borderline personality disorder: recognition and management
- American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5-TR, 2022. Criteria are paraphrased, not reproduced.
- World Health Organization. ICD-11 for the description of complex PTSD and personality disorder.
We prefer primary public-health and guideline sources, avoid unsourced statistics, describe informal terms such as quiet BPD as informal, and date each page. Corrections can be sent to [email protected].
Limits
Self-report questionnaires depend on how you feel on the day and on how you read each question. They cannot establish how long a pattern has lasted, rule out other explanations or replace a conversation with a qualified professional. If you may hurt yourself or cannot stay safe, find crisis support now.