Quick 5-item check-in for positive well-being over the last two weeks.

  • Answer all five statements for the same two-week window each time.
  • Higher scores mean stronger recent well-being on the original WHO-5 scale.
  • Scores below 50% or below 13/25 are a cue to look more closely, not a diagnosis.
{{ progressPercent }}%
{{ answeredCount }}/{{ questionCount }} answered
  • {{ question.id }}. {{ question.text }}
{{ card.label }}
{{ card.value }}
{{ card.note }}
Share result

Share this result page with someone you trust to review your answers and result.

Raw score meter
Item lift map
What this score suggests

{{ interpretationLead }}

{{ interpretationDetail }}

Strongest supports
  • {{ item.short }} scored {{ item.score }}/5, which is currently one of the stronger supports in the profile.
Lowest supports
  • {{ item.short }} scored {{ item.score }}/5, so it is one of the first places to review before relying on the total alone.
Suggested next steps
  • {{ step }}
Repeat-check context
  • {{ fact }}

{{ publishedCueNote }}

Answer review
# Statement Response Score Read Copy
{{ row.id }} {{ row.text }} {{ row.answer }} {{ row.score }}/5 {{ row.read }}
Tags: Psychology, Psychometrics
Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) Assessment Score the four BRCS coping items, place the 4-to-20 total in low, medium, or high resilient-coping bands, and review item gaps.
Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) Score 21 BDI-II depression-symptom answers over two weeks, see severity bands, Item 9 safety context, driver items, and answer exports.
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) Assessment Score the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, review direct and reverse-scored items, and compare the 0-to-30 total with guide bands and exports.
Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) Assessment Assess subjective happiness with the 4-item SHS, then review the 1-to-7 mean, reverse-scored item, balance cue, score arc, and answer pattern.
Customize
Advanced
:

Positive well-being can fade before a person has a clear name for the problem. Sleep may stop feeling restorative, work or study may take more effort, calm moments may be rare, or ordinary activities may lose their interest. A brief well-being scale gives those changes a shared language without asking the reader to diagnose themselves.

The WHO-5 focuses on five recent positive experiences: cheerful mood, calmness, energy, waking refreshed, and interest in daily life. That wording is intentional. It asks how often well-being was present during the past two weeks, not how many symptoms were endorsed or how a whole life should be judged. A low score therefore means those positive experiences were scarce in the recall window; it does not identify a specific condition on its own.

Time window
Each answer should refer to the same last-two-weeks period.
Frequency scale
Each statement runs from At no time to All of the time, with higher values meaning better well-being.
Item pattern
The five answers show which positive supports are holding and which ones are thin.
Raw total
The five item scores add to a value from 0 to 25.
Percent score
The raw total is multiplied by 4 so the same result appears on a 0 to 100 scale.

The same total can hide different stories. A person with weak sleep and energy but some remaining calm has a different profile from someone whose mood, calm, energy, rest, and interest are all low. One strong item can also make the total look less concerning than the weakest item feels in real life. The total is the first signal, but the answer pattern often explains what the total is hiding.

WHO-5 scoring adds five item scores into a 0 to 25 raw total and multiplies by four for a percent score.

WHO's 2024 handout describes a percentage score below 50, or a raw score below 13, as a suggested cue for poorer mental well-being and further assessment for a possible mental health condition. The cue should be read as a prompt to look closer, not as a diagnosis. Staying above it is also not an all-clear when one or two items are very low or when the person feels unsafe.

Brief self-report scales cannot judge crisis risk, medical causes, medication effects, or the full shape of someone's life. Severe distress, thoughts of self-harm, or worries about immediate safety need human support right away, regardless of the score.

How to Use This Tool:

Answer the five WHO-5 statements against one shared last-two-weeks window. The result appears after every statement has a selected frequency.

  1. Choose Start assessment to open the statement flow.
  2. For each statement, select the frequency that best matches the same two-week period, from All of the time down to At no time.
  3. Watch the progress bar and statement navigator. If the score does not appear, find the missing check mark and answer the remaining statement.
  4. Read the score summary for the percent score, raw total out of 25, and Published cue badge.
  5. Use Raw score meter for the original 0 to 25 scale, then use Item lift map to compare the five item scores.
  6. Review What this score suggests, Strongest supports, Lowest supports, and Answer review before copying, downloading, or sharing any result.

Interpreting Results:

The WHO-5 total is a short signal of recent positive well-being. Higher scores mean the five positive experiences were present more often during the last two weeks. Lower scores mean those experiences were thinner or absent more often.

The published cue is the first threshold to notice, but the item pattern is the next check. A low total can come from a broad drop across all five items, or from a smaller set of very weak items. A total above the cue can still include a thin area that deserves attention, especially when sleep, energy, calm, or daily interest has dropped sharply.

Result pattern What to trust What to verify
Published cue present The raw total is below 13, so the suggested follow-up cue is present. Read Lowest supports and consider fuller assessment or a supportive conversation.
No published cue The total is at least 13/25 and at least 52% on the percent scale. Check whether Thinner area or any Answer review row is still very low.
Energy and rest are thinner The vitality items are weaker than mood, calm, and interest. Review sleep, recovery, illness, physical load, and pacing before relying on the total alone.
Mood and interest are thinner The affect items are weaker than active energy and waking refreshed. Review emotional strain, connection, enjoyment, and daily interest.
One very low item The total may hide an important weak spot. Use the Item lift map and Answer review instead of stopping at the summary score.

Do not use one number as an all-clear or a final label. Read the cue, the lowest items, and the real two-week circumstances together.

Technical Details:

WHO-5 scoring is additive. Each of the five statements has the same weight, and higher frequency always contributes more to the total. There are no reverse-scored items, so the raw score can be checked by simply adding the selected values.

The raw total is the original score. The percent score is a rescaled version of the same number, not a separate measurement. Because item scores are whole numbers, percent scores move in four-point steps: 0, 4, 8, and so on up to 100. That step size is why a single changed response can move the displayed percent noticeably.

Formula Core

The raw total adds the five item values. The percent score multiplies that raw total by 4.

R = ∑ i=1 5 qi P = R × 4

R is the raw total, qi is each item score, and P is the percent score. For example, scores of 3, 3, 2, 2, and 3 sum to 13; multiplying 13 by 4 gives 52%.

Score part Construction Range Interpretation use
Item score One response from At no time = 0 to All of the time = 5. 0 to 5 Shows how often one positive experience was present.
Raw total All five item scores added together. 0 to 25 Main WHO-5 score on the original scale.
Percent score Raw total multiplied by 4. 0 to 100 Same result on a percent-style scale.
Affect total Good spirits, calm, and interest added together. 0 to 15 Reading aid for mood, calm, and engagement.
Vitality total Active and vigorous plus fresh and rested added together. 0 to 10 Reading aid for energy and recovery.
Reading Rule Boundary detail Practical meaning
Published cue present Raw total < 13, equivalent to percent score < 50. Raw 0 to 12, percent 0 to 48. Suggested cue for closer review or further assessment.
No published cue Raw total >= 13, equivalent to percent score >= 52 for whole-item scoring. Raw 13 to 25, percent 52 to 100. The cue is not present, but weak items can still matter.
Item score Answer review read Plain meaning
4 to 5 Strong lift The experience is one of the stronger supports in the current profile.
3 Holding The experience is present more often than not, but not especially strong.
2 Thin spot This area may be pulling the profile down.
0 to 1 Very thin spot This support was barely present in the two-week window.

Affect total, vitality total, and item read labels are reading aids for the report. They do not change the WHO-5 raw total, percent score, or published follow-up cue.

Responsible Use Note:

WHO-5 is an informational well-being measure, not a clinical diagnosis or treatment plan. If the published cue is present, if low items persist, or if well-being is affecting safety, sleep, health, caregiving, work, study, or daily functioning, consider fuller assessment or a conversation with a qualified professional.

Worked Examples:

Low score driven by depleted vitality. Responses of Less than half of the time, Less than half of the time, Some of the time, Some of the time, and Less than half of the time score 2, 2, 1, 1, and 2. The score summary shows 32% and 8/25 raw, with Published cue present. Current lean reads energy and rest as thinner because vitality is 2/10 while affect is 6/15.

Borderline result just above the cue. Scores of 3, 3, 2, 2, and 3 produce a raw total of 13 and a percent score of 52%. Published cue is not present because the rule is raw below 13, not raw 13 or below. The Item lift map still shows weaker active and rested items, so the result should not be treated as a full all-clear.

Above the cue with one very weak area. Scores of 4, 4, 2, 1, and 4 produce 15/25 raw and 60%. The cue is not present, but Thinner area points to Fresh and rested on waking at 1/5, and Answer review marks it as a Very thin spot. The total looks acceptable only because other items are stronger.

Unfinished assessment. Four answered statements show 80% progress and no score. Use the statement navigator to find the missing check mark, answer the remaining item, and then review Raw score meter, Item lift map, and Answer review.

FAQ:

Does a low WHO-5 score mean I have depression?

No. A low score is a cue for closer review or fuller assessment, not a diagnosis. The report keeps the published cue visible without turning it into a final label.

Why show both raw and percent scores?

They are the same result in two formats. The raw score runs from 0 to 25, and the percent score is the raw total multiplied by 4.

What if I miss one statement?

The result does not appear until all five statements are answered. Use the progress bar and statement navigator to find the missing item.

Are affect and vitality official WHO-5 subscales?

No. They are reading aids based on the five item scores. The WHO-5 result is still the five-item raw total and its percent conversion.

Can a score above the published cue still matter?

Yes. One or two low items can deserve attention even when the total stays above the cue, especially for sleep, energy, calm, or interest.

Where does my data go?

Scoring runs in the browser. Copied rows, shared result links, chart downloads, CSV files, and DOCX exports can preserve sensitive answers outside the browser, so share them carefully.

Glossary:

WHO-5
A five-item questionnaire about positive mental well-being during the last two weeks.
Raw total
The sum of the five item scores on the original 0 to 25 scale.
Percent score
The raw total multiplied by 4 so the same result appears on a 0 to 100 scale.
Published cue
The below 13 raw or below 50 percent threshold that suggests further assessment may be appropriate.
Affect total
The reading aid for good spirits, calm, and daily interest.
Vitality total
The reading aid for feeling active and waking fresh and rested.

References: