Intermittent Explosive Disorder Test: Screen Your Anger Outburst Patterns
This intermittent explosive disorder test screens for impulsive anger outbursts and their impact, using DSM-5-TR criteria as a guide. Get an instant descriptive result and an optional PDF report.
Reviewed by Michael Callans, MSW 
Intermittent Explosive Disorder Test is a free, confidential 14-question self-assessment, informed by DSM-5-TR criteria. It takes about 9 minutes, runs entirely in your browser, and gives you a plain-language score across 3 interpretation bands plus an optional in-depth report. It is an educational screening, not a diagnosis.
What sets explosive anger apart
Most people lose their temper sometimes. Intermittent explosive disorder is defined by a specific pattern, and this screener looks at the features clinicians weigh: how impulsive the outbursts are, how out of proportion, and what they cost.
Frequency and form
How often outbursts happen, whether they are verbal blow-ups, aggression toward objects, or physical aggression, and whether they come on fast with little warning.
Impulsivity and proportion
The core of the disorder: outbursts that are impulsive and anger-driven rather than planned, and that are clearly out of proportion to whatever triggered them.
Distress and fallout
What the outbursts leave behind: regret afterward, strained relationships, trouble at work, legal or financial consequences, and the sense that the anger is not under your control.
| Feature | Typical free quiz | Psychology.com |
|---|---|---|
| Based on DSM-5-TR IED criteria | Vaguely | Yes, faithful to the criteria |
| Separates impulsive from planned anger | Rarely | Yes, a core distinction |
| Measures proportion to triggers | Often missed | Yes, central to the result |
| Captures distress and consequences | No | Yes, regret and fallout |
| Clinician-reviewed interpretation | Rarely | Yes, reviewed |
| Optional in-depth personalized report | No | Yes, written to your exact scores |
| Confidential (no data sent) | Often tracked | Runs in your browser |
How scoring works
Answers are scored 0–42 in total. Your result falls into one of 3 bands:
| Score | Band | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 0–11 | Low signs | Your answers show low signs of explosive anger. Anger does not seem to be a major problem in your life right now. |
| 12–24 | Some signs | Your answers show some signs of explosive anger. It is showing up enough to be worth addressing. |
| 25–42 | Strong signs | Your answers show strong signs of explosive anger. The pattern seems to be taking a real toll, and support is genuinely worth it. |
Who this test is for
This intermittent explosive disorder test screens for recurrent, impulsive anger outbursts and their consequences. It is an original educational self-assessment informed by diagnostic criteria, with descriptive results that can support a clinical conversation. It cannot confirm IED or predict violence. This Intermittent Explosive Disorder Test is designed for adults who notice a pattern of anger outbursts that feel bigger than the situation calls for, not for someone processing a single hard argument or a rough week. If you get irritated fairly often but rarely lose control, the broader Anger Issues Test may be a better starting point, since it looks at everyday anger patterns rather than the specific impulsive-outburst profile of IED.
It is also written for people supporting someone else, a partner, parent, or friend trying to understand what they are seeing. The scoring bands and context below describe the pattern from the inside, which can help explain, without excusing, what is happening.
If you are supporting someone else, use the page to understand the questions and prepare a conversation. Answers about internal urges and regret are self-reports, so completing it for another person cannot establish their diagnosis or intentions. Their safety and yours matter regardless of the label.
Physical injury is not required for every presentation of IED. The diagnostic criteria also consider recurrent verbal aggression, such as temper tantrums or arguments, and aggression that does not cause injury or property damage. A clinician evaluates the frequency, context, proportion, and consequences together. Frequent shouting deserves attention when it frightens people or disrupts daily life, regardless of which diagnosis, if any, applies.
What to do after your results
A licensed therapist who works with anger and emotion regulation can help you build the skills this pattern responds well to, and the Psychology.com therapist directory lets you search by specialty at no cost.
Two tools can help you notice the pattern between now and your first appointment. An Anger Log helps you track what happens right before an outburst, and the Anger Cycle walks through the buildup, peak, and comedown stages so the surge feels less sudden and more like something you can work with.
For a broader comparison, the Emotional Dysregulation Test explores difficulty managing feelings beyond anger. You can find related self-assessments in the Psychology.com tests hub. These screens can help you describe concerns, while an assessment considers the full history and possible explanations.
When calm, use the Anger Log to record what happened, the physical cues you noticed, the thoughts that followed, and what you did. SAMHSA's anger management manual uses cues and time-outs as practical skills. Agree on how to pause a heated conversation safely and return when everyone is ready. A time-out should never involve blocking someone's exit, following them, or pressuring them to continue.
Signs it may be time to get help
Certain signs point more clearly toward professional support: outbursts that involve breaking things or hurting a person, anger that has cost you a job, a relationship, or legal trouble, or a sense that the anger takes over before you can stop it. These behaviors deserve direct attention and accountability. A clinician can help you understand the pattern and plan safer responses, while the people affected are entitled to protection and support.
If you are worried about your safety or someone else's, do not wait for a test score to reach out. Immediate danger calls for your local emergency number, and ongoing concern is a good reason to call or text 988 in the US for support any time.
What does an intermittent explosive disorder test score mean?
A higher result means you endorsed more of the anger experiences in this questionnaire. It cannot determine whether those experiences meet every diagnostic requirement. A clinician needs examples of actual episodes, their consequences, and the pattern over time, including whether aggression was impulsive or used deliberately to achieve something.
Bring descriptions of the most concerning incidents, even if your total is low. A total score can obscure a serious episode when other answers are low. Tell the clinician about sleep changes, substance use, medications, and other symptoms that occurred around the same time. Avoid using the score to excuse harm or to decide that another person should feel safe.
Feeling remorse after an outburst can be part of your account, but remorse alone does not identify IED or establish that another person is safe. Describe actions concretely, including threats, damaged belongings, and whether someone was afraid to leave. If an episode followed a medication change, intoxication, or a head injury, tell the evaluating clinician. The diagnostic criteria require considering other mental health, substance-related, and medical explanations.
Methodology & sources
This test is an educational screener informed by the DSM-5-TR criteria for intermittent explosive disorder (IED). The criteria describe recurrent behavioral outbursts reflecting a failure to control aggressive impulses, shown either as frequent verbal or non-damaging aggression (on average twice a week for three months) or as a smaller number of more serious outbursts involving damage or injury (three within a year). The aggression must be impulsive and anger-based rather than premeditated, grossly out of proportion to the trigger, cause distress or impairment, and not be better explained by another condition. Our items adapt these features into plain-language statements rated from 0 (never) to 3 (very often), giving a total from 0 to 42. This is an educational screener, not a validated diagnostic instrument, and the bands are descriptive rather than official cutoffs.
This test is provided for education and self-reflection. It is not a diagnosis. Intermittent explosive disorder is diagnosed by a qualified clinician, who looks at the full pattern over time and rules out other explanations such as substance use, mania, or other conditions that can drive anger. If your result concerns you, treat it as a prompt to reach out, not as a label. If your anger is leading to harm, to yourself, to others, or to your relationships, please seek help; treatment options include cognitive behavioral therapy, and a clinician can help you choose care that fits your needs.
The IED-SQ cited below is a separate published screening questionnaire. Its validation evidence does not establish the accuracy of this original Psychology.com screener. The descriptive bands here summarize endorsed experiences; they are not diagnostic thresholds, probabilities of IED, or a prediction of whether someone will become violent.
The response choices summarize how often an experience feels true across the stated time window. They do not document the exact episode counts and circumstances a clinician needs to apply diagnostic criteria. The category breakdown is therefore a description of your answers, not a separate validated subscale assessment. Clinical evaluation still requires an episode history and assessment of other possible causes.
References
- Coccaro EF, Kavoussi RJ. Development of a neuropharmacologically based behavioral assessment of impulsive aggressive behavior. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1997;9(2):251-254.
- Coccaro EF, Berman ME, McCloskey MS. Development of a screening questionnaire for DSM-5 intermittent explosive disorder (IED-SQ). Compr Psychiatry. 2017;74:21-26.
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). Washington, DC: APA; 2022.
- McCloskey MS, Noblett KL, Deffenbacher JL, Gollan JK, Coccaro EF. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for intermittent explosive disorder: a pilot randomized clinical trial. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18837604/
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Anger Management for Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Clients: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Manual. library.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/anger_management_manual_508_compliant.pdf
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. DSM-IV to DSM-5 Intermittent Explosive Disorder Comparison. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519704/table/ch3.t18/
Cite this source
Psychology.com. (2026, September 16). Intermittent Explosive Disorder Test. Psychology.com. https://psychology.com/tests/intermittent-explosive
Intermittent Explosive Disorder Test FAQ
What is an intermittent explosive disorder test?
It is a short, educational screener informed by the DSM-5-TR criteria for intermittent explosive disorder. It looks at how often you have impulsive anger outbursts, how out of proportion they are to what triggers them, and what they cost you. It produces a descriptive result, not a diagnosis. This Psychology.com version is an original questionnaire, so published accuracy figures for the separate IED-SQ should not be applied to its results.
How is IED different from just having a temper?
Everyone gets angry, and many people occasionally lose their temper. Intermittent explosive disorder is a recurring pattern of outbursts that are impulsive rather than planned, clearly out of proportion to the trigger, and cause real distress or damage to relationships, work, or property. The defining features are the loss of control and the disproportionate intensity.
Is the anger planned or impulsive?
In IED the outbursts are impulsive and driven by anger in the moment, not calculated to achieve a goal. If aggression is planned, used to intimidate, or serves a clear purpose, that points away from IED and toward something a clinician would assess differently. This screener focuses on the impulsive, regret-the-next-moment kind of anger.
Is this test a diagnosis?
No. It is for education and self-reflection only. Intermittent explosive disorder can only be diagnosed by a qualified clinician, who looks at the full pattern over time and rules out other causes. If your results concern you, consider reaching out to a therapist. A low score also cannot rule out a serious safety concern or another condition contributing to aggression. Discuss specific incidents as well as the total.
Can explosive anger be treated?
Yes. Cognitive behavioral therapy for IED has been studied in randomized trials and can address anger, hostile interpretations, and aggressive responses. A clinician may also discuss medication based on an individual assessment. Treatment response varies, so agree on practical goals such as reducing threatening behavior, recognizing escalation, and responding safely to conflict, then review progress with your clinician.
Is intermittent explosive disorder a real diagnosis?
Yes. It is a recognized diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR, the diagnostic manual clinicians in the United States use, defined by recurrent impulsive aggressive outbursts that are out of proportion to their triggers. This screener is informed by those criteria, but only a qualified clinician can make the actual diagnosis.
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