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Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire

Do negative thoughts cause your worries to spiral out of control? Take this test to assess their severity.

Mark Travers, Ph.D.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D.

October 2, 2024

Mark Travers, Ph.D., is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, responsible for new client intake and placement. Mark received his B.A. in psychology, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. His academic research has been published in leading psychology journals and has been featured in The New York Times and The New Yorker, among other popular publications. He is a regular contributor for Forbes and Psychology Today, where he writes about psycho-educational topics such as happiness, relationships, personality, and life meaning. Click here to schedule an initial consultation with Mark or another member of the Awake Therapy team. Or, you can drop him a note here.

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Repetitive Negative Thoughts (RNT) refer to the persistent and often uncontrollable thought patterns that focus on negative content. These thoughts are typically repetitive, intrusive and difficult to disengage from. RNT can manifest as worry (about future events) or rumination (dwelling on past events or mistakes). Unlike problem-solving or constructive thinking, RNT is unproductive and often exacerbates emotional distress.

Engaging in repetitive negative thinking consumes a lot of mental energy. It makes it hard to concentrate on tasks, think creatively or make decisions. Over time, it can significantly reduce productivity and problem-solving abilities.

The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) measures RNT by assessing their severity, and, in turn, allows users to gain insight into how overthinking might be affecting their well-being. By understanding the extent of your overthinking, you can take the first step toward managing it and regaining control over your mental and emotional health.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

References: Ehring, T., Zetsche, U., Weidacker, K., Wahl, K., Schönfeld, S., & Ehlers, A. (2011). The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ): Validation of a content-independent measure of repetitive negative thinking. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 42(2), 225-232.

Step 1: Rate the following statements based on how much you agree with them on a scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree.

1. The same thoughts keep going through my mind again and again.

2. Thoughts intrude into my mind.

3. I can't stop dwelling on them.

4. I think about many problems without solving any of them.

5. I can't do anything else while thinking about my problems.

6. My thoughts repeat themselves.

7. Thoughts come to my mind without me wanting them to.

8. I get stuck on certain issues and can't move on.

9. I keep asking myself questions without finding an answer.

10. My thoughts prevent me from focusing on other things.

11. I keep thinking about the same issue all the time.

12. Thoughts just pop into my mind.

13. I feel driven to continue dwelling on the same issue.

14. My thoughts are not much help to me.

15. My thoughts take up all my attention.

0 of 0 questions answered

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores with people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.