Agoraphobia Test
A confidential self-assessment built on the DSM-5 Severity Measure for Agoraphobia, the 10-item scale the American Psychiatric Association publishes for clinical use. It covers the fear, the physical symptoms, and the avoidance across the five situations that define agoraphobia. You get an instant, plain-language result and a professional PDF report you can keep or bring to a therapist.
Agoraphobia Test is a free, confidential 10-question self-assessment, based on the DSM-5 Severity Measure. It takes about 4 minutes, runs entirely in your browser, and gives you a plain-language score across 4 interpretation bands plus a downloadable PDF report. It is an educational screening, not a diagnosis.
The fear, the symptoms, and the shrinking map
Agoraphobia is more than disliking crowds. It is fear of situations where escape might be hard or help unavailable, and the avoidance that slowly shrinks a person's world. This measure looks at the fear, the body's response, and the avoidance together.
The full severity measure
All ten items of the DSM-5 Severity Measure for Agoraphobia, covering sudden fear, worry, anxious thoughts, physical symptoms, avoidance, escape, and needing help to cope. Each is rated 0 to 4 over the past seven days, for a total of 0 to 40.
The defining situations
The DSM-5 names five situation types: public transportation, open spaces, enclosed places, standing in lines or being in crowds, and being outside the home alone. Your answers are about how you feel and act in these situations.
The past seven days
The measure asks about the last week, so your result reflects where things stand right now rather than your worst period. Clinicians use it the same way, repeating it over time to track change.
| Feature | Typical free quiz | Psychology.com |
|---|---|---|
| The APA's own DSM-5 severity items | Rarely | Yes, all 10 items |
| Covers all five DSM-5 situation types | Vaguely | Yes, named explicitly |
| Real APA scoring bands | Made-up labels | Yes, honestly explained |
| Distinguishes agoraphobia from panic and social anxiety | No | Yes, clearly explained |
| Clinician-reviewed interpretation | Rarely | Yes, clinician reviewed |
| Downloadable PDF report | No | Yes, branded & shareable |
| Confidential (no data sent) | Often tracked | Runs in your browser |
How scoring works
Answers are scored 0–40 in total. Your result falls into one of 4 bands:
| Score | Band | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | None to minimal | Your answers round to an average severity of none. Agoraphobic fear does not seem to be shaping your week right now. |
| 5–14 | Mild severity | Your answers round to an average severity of mild on the APA's scale. Agoraphobic fear or avoidance is present, and this is a good moment to pay attention. |
| 15–24 | Moderate severity | Your answers round to an average severity of moderate on the APA's scale. These situations are costing you real anxiety, effort, or freedom, and support could make a real difference. |
| 25–40 | Severe to extreme | Your answers round to an average severity of severe or extreme on the APA's scale. These situations, or avoiding them, seem to be shaping most of your days. That is exhausting, and it is also very treatable. |
Methodology & sources
The ten questions reproduce the Severity Measure for Agoraphobia, Adult, developed by Craske and colleagues (2013) and published by the American Psychiatric Association as a free emerging measure alongside the DSM-5. Each item asks how often you have had an experience over the past seven days in or about agoraphobic situations, rated from 0 (never) to 4 (all of the time), for a total of 0 to 40. The situations are the five the DSM-5 defines: using public transportation, being in open spaces, being in enclosed places, standing in line or being in a crowd, and being outside the home alone. Wording is lightly adjusted for readability while preserving the meaning of the published items.
This test is provided for education and self-reflection, not diagnosis. The APA scores this measure by average item score: total divided by ten, giving a severity of none (0), mild (1), moderate (2), severe (3), or extreme (4), with the average rounded to the nearest whole number. Our bands translate that same arithmetic into total-score ranges so your result matches how a clinician would read the measure. A severity rating is not a diagnosis: the DSM-5 also requires that the fear is out of proportion to real danger, lasts six months or more, and causes significant distress or impairment, which only a licensed clinician can assess.
References
- Craske M, Wittchen HU, Bogels S, Stein M, Andrews G, Lebeau R. Severity Measure for Agoraphobia, Adult. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: APA; 2013.
- Lebeau RT, Glenn DE, Hanover LN, Beesdo-Baum K, Wittchen HU, Craske MG. A dimensional approach to measuring anxiety for DSM-5. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2012;21(4):258–272. doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1369
- Craske MG, Stein MB. Anxiety. Lancet. 2016;388(10063):3048–3059. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30381-6
Agoraphobia Test FAQ
What is agoraphobia, exactly?
Agoraphobia is intense fear or anxiety about situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable if something went wrong, such as a panic attack or another embarrassing or incapacitating symptom. The DSM-5 requires marked fear in at least two of five situation types: public transportation, open spaces, enclosed places, lines or crowds, and being outside the home alone. The word is often misused to mean simply never leaving the house; housebound agoraphobia is the severe end, not the definition.
Is agoraphobia the same as panic disorder?
No, though they are closely linked. Agoraphobia often develops after panic attacks, as a person starts avoiding places where an attack would feel dangerous or humiliating. But in the DSM-5 they are separate diagnoses: you can have panic disorder without agoraphobia, agoraphobia without panic attacks, or both together. If sudden surges of intense fear are the core of your experience, our panic disorder test looks at that side directly.
How is agoraphobia different from social anxiety?
The fear has a different center. In social anxiety, the fear is about being judged, embarrassed, or scrutinized by other people. In agoraphobia, the fear is about being trapped, unable to escape, or without help if symptoms strike; other people are often irrelevant, or even wanted as safe companions. A crowded train can trigger both, for entirely different reasons. If judgment and embarrassment ring truer, our social anxiety test is the better screen.
Is this test a diagnosis?
No. It is for education and self-reflection only. This measure rates severity over the past week; an actual diagnosis also requires that the fear is persistent, out of proportion to real danger, and significantly disruptive, which only a licensed clinician can assess in conversation with you.
Can agoraphobia be treated?
Yes, and treatment works well. Cognitive behavioral therapy with gradual exposure, where you re-enter feared situations step by step with support, has the strongest evidence. Many people reclaim buses, stores, and solo trips they had written off. Medication such as SSRIs can help too, and therapy can start from home via telehealth, which matters when travel itself is the obstacle.
Is the test really confidential?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are never sent to a server, never stored, and never linked to you. No account is needed, and the optional PDF is generated on your own device.
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