Patient Health Questionnaire – 15 (PHQ-15)

The Patient Health Questionnaire – 15 (PHQ-15) is a short 15-item self-report questionnaire designed to screen for somatization and severity of somatic symptoms. The PHQ-15 is a somatic symptom subscale derived from the full PHQ questionnaire. Thirteen somatic symptoms of the PHQ-15 are included in the somatic symptoms module of the PHQ, in which subjects are asked to rate the severity of each symptom. Two other physical symptoms—feeling tired or lacking energy and trouble sleeping—are included in the depression module of the PHQ.

Length of filling

The PHQ-15 takes approximately 3-5 minutes to complete.

Individualized feedback for the respondent

After evaluating the questionnaire, the subject will find out the severity of his somatic symptoms.

Keywords

Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-15, somatization, somatic symptoms, physical symptoms

Scoring and interpretation

When determining the PHQ-15 score, each individual symptom is coded as 0, 1, or 2, and the total score obtained by summing ranges from 0 to 30. Higher scores indicate more severe somatic symptoms.

Response scale

Respondents rate the severity of somatic symptoms on a three-point scale: 0 (No trouble), 1 (A little trouble) or 2 (A lot trouble).

References

Dadfar, M., Asgharnejadfarid, A. A., Hosseini, A. F., Esfahani, M. N., Lester, D., & Kalibatseva, Z. (2020). Measuring somatic symptoms with the PHQ-15: A comparative study of three Iranian samples. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 23(3-4), 289–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2020.1718069

Hinz, A., Ernst, J., Glaesmer, H., Brähler, E., Rauscher, F. G., Petrowski, K., & Kocalevent, R. D. (2017). Frequency of somatic symptoms in the general population: Normative values for the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15). Journal of psychosomatic research, 96, 27–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.12.017

Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. (2002). The PHQ-15: validity of a new measure for evaluating the severity of somatic symptoms. Psychosomatic medicine, 64(2), 258–266. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-200203000-00008

Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2010). The Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptom Scales: a systematic review. General hospital psychiatry, 32(4), 345–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2010.03.006