A bipolar questionnaire is a short set of structured questions that screens for symptoms of bipolar disorder, a mood condition marked by swings between high-energy highs and deep lows. It does not diagnose anything. It helps clinicians, researchers, and individuals decide whether a full evaluation is worth pursuing.
The stakes are real. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that 4.4% of US adults will experience bipolar disorder in their lifetime. In this guide, we’ll cover how these screens work, 20 sample questions, and how to design and evaluate your own.
What is a bipolar questionnaire?
A bipolar questionnaire is a self-report screening tool that asks about manic, hypomanic, and depressive symptoms to flag who may need a clinical assessment. Mania is a period of unusually high or irritable mood and energy. Hypomania is a milder version of the same pattern. A depressive episode is a stretch of low mood, lost interest, or hopelessness.
NIMH describes bipolar disorder as a mental illness that causes clear shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration. A questionnaire turns those shifts into answerable items.
Most screens assume the respondent has already had at least one depressive episode. That is why the sample set below includes depression items alongside the high-energy ones.
People who commonly use a bipolar questionnaire include:
- Psychiatrists and psychologists who want a quick pre-visit snapshot.
- Primary care clinicians who see low mood but suspect a larger pattern.
- Researchers who screen volunteers before a mood-disorder study.
- Individuals who want structured language for what they have noticed.
How is a bipolar questionnaire different from a diagnosis or a depression screener?
Bipolar questionnaires flag possible symptoms. Only a licensed clinician can diagnose, using a full history and often a structured interview. Depression screeners measure low mood only, so they can miss the highs that point toward bipolar disorder.
The table below separates four tools people often confuse.
| Tool | What it does | Result | Typical user |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bipolar questionnaire (custom or template) | Screens for manic, hypomanic, and depressive symptoms | Flag for follow-up | Clinics, researchers, individuals |
| Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) | Validated 13-item lifetime screen for bipolar spectrum symptoms | Positive or negative screen | Clinicians, primary care |
| Depression questionnaire | Rates severity of low mood and related symptoms | Severity score | Clinicians, researchers |
| Structured clinical interview | Clinician-led interview against diagnostic criteria | Diagnosis | Licensed clinicians only |
How common is bipolar disorder in the US?
Bipolar disorder affects millions of US adults, and young adults carry the highest burden. NIMH publishes figures from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, fielded in 2001 to 2003, so treat the numbers as the best available benchmark rather than a current count.
- Past-year prevalence: 2.8% of US adults.
- Lifetime prevalence: 4.4% of US adults.
- Highest age group: 4.7% of adults aged 18 to 29 in the past year, compared with 0.7% of adults 60 and older.
- Severity: 82.9% of past-year cases involved serious impairment.
Source: NIMH bipolar disorder statistics.
How does the Mood Disorder Questionnaire work?
The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is the most widely cited bipolar screen. Robert Hirschfeld and colleagues developed it and published it in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2000. It asks about lifetime symptoms rather than current mood.
A screen is positive only when all three parts are met. The University of Washington scoring guide lists them:
- The respondent answers “yes” to 7 or more of the 13 symptom items.
- The respondent confirms that several of those symptoms happened during the same period.
- The respondent rates the resulting problems as “moderate” or “serious.”
In the original validation of 198 mood-clinic outpatients, the MDQ showed sensitivity of 0.73 and specificity of 0.90. Sensitivity is the share of true cases the tool catches. Specificity is the share of non-cases it correctly clears.
Accuracy drops for milder patterns. Sensitivity is higher for bipolar I than for bipolar II. The MDQ overview on Wikipedia adds that the tool often misses more than half of bipolar II cases.
What are 20 sample bipolar questionnaire questions?
These 20 sample questions follow the structure of a typical bipolar screening questionnaire: demographics, mood and behavior statements, and daily-functioning items. They are a design starting point, not a validated clinical instrument. QuestionPro also offers a ready-made bipolar questionnaire template you can copy and edit.
A. Demographic questions
Demographic questions place each response in context and help you spot patterns by group. Keep them short and optional where your ethics review allows. For wording ideas, see these demographic survey questions.
| No. | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is your age group? | Single choice (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+) |
| 2 | What is your gender? | Single choice with a self-describe option |
| 3 | Which race or ethnicity best describes you? | Multiple choice with a prefer-not-to-say option |
B. Mood and behavior statements
This block works best as a matrix, one grid with a shared scale. Ask respondents to think about the past three weeks. Use the same five-point scale for every row: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Very often.
- I felt unusually energetic or “wired” without a clear reason.
- I needed much less sleep than usual and still felt rested.
- I talked faster or more than usual, and others struggled to keep up.
- My thoughts raced from one idea to the next.
- I felt unusually confident or special.
- I became irritable or argued more easily than usual.
- I started many new projects at once.
- I spent money in ways I later regretted.
- I was easily distracted and could not stay on one task.
- My mood swung quickly between very high and very low.
C. Daily functioning and depression items
These seven items cover the low side of the cycle. Use a four-point frequency scale: Not at all, Several days, More than half the days, Nearly every day.
- Q14: Little interest or pleasure in usual activities.
- Q15: Feeling down, sad, or hopeless.
- Q16: Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much.
- Q17: Low energy or feeling tired most of the day.
- Q18: Changes in appetite or weight.
- Q19: Trouble concentrating on reading, work, or conversation.
- Q20: Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself.
Treat Q20 as a safety item, not a data point. Any answer other than “Not at all” should trigger an immediate crisis-resource page, covered in the build section below.
How do you choose the right questions for your audience?
Choose questions by who answers them, what decision the results feed, and how much time you can ask for. A clinic intake form and a research baseline survey need different lengths, recall windows, and wording. Settle these five design choices before you write a single item.
| Design choice | Recommended approach | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Recall window | Past three weeks for current symptoms, lifetime for history | Mixing windows confuses respondents |
| Scale | One consistent scale per block | Switching scales raises error |
| Length | 15 to 20 items for a first-pass screen | Long forms lose people at sensitive questions |
| Wording | Plain, non-clinical, no diagnostic labels | Labels bias answers |
| Required fields | Make only the safety and consent items required | Forced answers can push people to quit |
What is the step-by-step process to build a bipolar questionnaire in QuestionPro?
You can build a working bipolar screening survey in about an hour with QuestionPro Survey Software. The platform handles layout, logic, and delivery. Your clinical reviewer handles the content. Healthcare teams can also see how the healthcare industry solution handles sensitive patient feedback.
- Start from the template. Open the sample template or begin with the 20 questions above.
- Use matrix questions for the mood block.
A matrix question keeps ten statements on one scale and shortens completion time.
- Add branching for safety.
Use branching so any positive answer to Q20 sends the respondent to a page with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and local resources.
- Add a consent and disclaimer page.
State clearly that the survey screens and does not diagnose.
- Pilot with a small group.
Ask a clinician and a few test respondents to complete it and flag confusing wording.
- Distribute through a secure channel.
Send by email invitation or a private link, not a public social post.
- Review results by pattern, not by single answer.
Look at how mood-block scores and functioning items move together.
If your organization handles protected health information, confirm with your privacy officer that your setup meets the rules that apply to you before collecting any responses.
How do you evaluate whether a bipolar questionnaire works?
A questionnaire works when clinicians trust what it flags and respondents finish it honestly. You can check this before launch with a small, practical test plan rather than waiting for full validation.
- Clinical review: Have a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist check every item against DSM-5 symptom language.
- Pilot completion: Track where pilot respondents drop off. A cluster of exits at one item means the wording needs work.
- Internal consistency: Check that related items, such as reduced sleep and high energy, tend to move together.
- Benchmark comparison: Give a pilot group both your questionnaire and the MDQ, then compare who each one flags.
- Safety path test: Submit a test response to Q20 and confirm the crisis page appears every time.
Anything you plan to use for clinical decisions needs formal validation against a structured clinical interview. A custom survey does not replace that step.
What are real-world examples of bipolar questionnaires in use?
Bipolar screens show up wherever someone needs a fast, structured way to decide who gets a deeper look. The three scenarios below are illustrative, not case studies.
Primary care intake
A primary care practice adds a short mood screen to new-patient intake.
- A patient who reports repeated low mood also answers the high-energy items.
- A positive pattern prompts the physician to ask about family history.
- The physician then considers a referral for a full evaluation.
University counseling center
A campus counseling center sends a screen to students who request an appointment. Staff review results before the first visit. The pattern helps them match students with the right clinician sooner.
Clinical research baseline
A research team screens volunteers before enrolling them in a mood-disorder study. The questionnaire sorts people into groups for full interviews.
- It saves interview time.
- It does not replace the interview.
What mistakes should you avoid when using a bipolar questionnaire?
The biggest risks are treating a screen as a verdict and ignoring the safety path. Most failures come from design and framing, not from the questions themselves.
- Presenting scores as a diagnosis.
A screen cannot tell bipolar I from bipolar II or from other conditions.
- Skipping the safety item.
Self-harm questions without a crisis response leave respondents alone at the worst moment.
- Mixing time frames.
Asking about “ever” and “last three weeks” in one block makes answers uninterpretable.
- Using diagnostic labels in questions.
Words like “manic” can prime or alienate respondents.
- Ignoring false negatives.
A negative result does not rule out bipolar disorder, especially bipolar II, according to MDCalc.
- Skipping clinical review.
Self-built items need a clinician’s eyes before anyone sees them.
What should happen after a positive screen?
A positive screen should lead to a conversation with a licensed clinician, not to self-diagnosis or treatment decisions. Clinicians weigh the result alongside several other factors:
- Personal history of mood episodes.
- Prior response to treatment.
- Family history of bipolar disorder.
- Medical or substance-related causes.
If a respondent reports thoughts of suicide, they should call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911. A survey team should build these instructions into the survey itself, not into a follow-up email.
For related question sets on broader wellbeing, see the mental health survey template and QuestionPro’s guide to what a questionnaire is.
A screen opens the conversation, not the verdict
A good bipolar questionnaire does one job well. It helps a person or a clinician notice a pattern that deserves a closer look. It cannot name the condition, rank its severity, or choose a treatment.
Build yours with clear time frames, plain wording, clinician review, and a tested safety path. Then treat every result as the start of a conversation with a qualified professional.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A 15 to 20 item screen usually takes only a few minutes. Matrix grids with a shared scale speed this up. The MDQ’s 13 yes-or-no items are even faster, though its follow-up questions add a little time.
Not reliably. Screens flag a pattern of highs and lows without separating subtypes. The MDQ is more sensitive to bipolar I and misses many bipolar II cases, so a clinician must make the distinction in a full evaluation.
No. A negative screen can miss milder or atypical presentations, particularly bipolar II. If symptoms persist or a family history of bipolar disorder exists, a clinician may still recommend a structured diagnostic assessment.
Yes, if you handle consent, privacy, and safety correctly. Add a disclaimer, secure delivery, and a crisis page. Organizations covered by HIPAA, the federal health privacy law, should confirm compliance with their privacy officer first.
Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which is available around the clock. Chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Add 911 for a life-threatening emergency, and put both options on your survey’s closing page.
