Male Depression Risk Scale

Studies have found that standard screening tools for depression don’t always accurately capture signs of depression in men.^[1,2,3] 

Though men certainly experience typical symptoms of depression (e.g., feeling down/depressed/hopeless, loss of interest or pleasure in doing things), it’s fairly common for men to also experience other symptoms that aren’t typically associated with depression (e.g., anger/irritability). 

To help address this discrepancy, the Male Depression Risk Scale (MDRS) was developed as a screening tool that specifically examines six key indicators of possible depression in men: ^[4] 

• Emotion suppression
• Drug use
• Alcohol use
• Anger and aggression
• Somatic symptoms (physical symptoms)
• Risk-taking

The assessment presented below is an abbreviated version of the full MDRS. As you go through the assessment, please answer as honestly as you can. Being honest with yourself about how you are doing is a key step toward improving your mental health.

Know that whatever your score is, there are ways to improve your life, and we’ll do our best to guide you based on your responses. Putting the tips and advice we offer into practice will help you move forward on the road to recovery.

Men often set aside their own health and prioritize things like work and other responsibilities, but depression is as real of an illness as any other, like diabetes or high blood pressure, and is best treated with support from a doctor and/or mental health professionals.  Delaying treatment often simply delays recovery. 

Come back and track your progress

This assessment can be taken periodically to assess your mental health over a period time. This can be useful to track the effectiveness of different strategies for preventing and alleviating symptoms of depression. 

Disclaimer

This assessment is based on the Male Depression Risk Scale (MDRS) a standardized men’s depression screening tool. You should not use this assessment, or any other quick assessment tool, to make a diagnosis by yourself.

A score from this MDRS check is a general indication of how you are doing, not a label to judge yourself with. Men who’ve gotten the highest scores possible have recovered from depression. The MDRS helps provide an assessment of how you are doing right now – it does not predict how you will do in the future.

Privacy

The MDRS survey is anonymous and no personally identifying information is required. It includes an opt-in demographic section that helps inform our understanding of our visitors and the development of our content.

Contact information for our email newsletter (if you choose to opt-in) and your MDRS responses are stored separately. See our terms, privacy, and conditions for more information.

References

1. Herreen, D., Rice, S., & Zajac, I. (2022). Brief assessment of Male Depression in clinical care: Validation of the male depression risk scale short form in a cross-sectional study of Australian men. BMJ Open, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053650
2. Whittle, E. L., Fogarty, A. S., Tugendrajch, S., Player, M. J., Christensen, H., Wilhelm, K., Hadzi-Pavlovic, D., & Proudfoot, J. (2015). Men, depression, and coping: Are we on the right path? Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 16(4), 426–438. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039024
3. Rice, S. M., Fallon, B. J., Aucote, H. M., & Möller-Leimkühler, A. M. (2013). Development and preliminary validation of the male depression risk scale: Furthering the assessment of depression in men. Journal of Affective Disorders, 151(3), 950–958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.08.013
4. Herreen, D., Rice, S., & Zajac, I. (2022).