The test presented here is the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes About Sleep Scale, short form (DBAS-16), developed by Morin and colleagues as a brief version of the original 30-item DBAS. It consists of 16 statements about sleep — its necessity, its effects on daily functioning, and how controllable it is — for which you rate your degree of agreement.
Unlike scales that measure sleep quality or daytime sleepiness directly, the DBAS-16 looks at the beliefs and attitudes behind insomnia — thoughts such as needing a fixed number of hours of sleep, expecting poor performance after a bad night, or believing that sleep problems are unpredictable and uncontrollable. It takes about 5 minutes to complete. Higher scores indicate stronger endorsement of dysfunctional beliefs, which cognitive-behavioral models of insomnia identify as a factor that maintains chronic sleep difficulties. The result is not a medical diagnosis and does not replace consultation with a specialist.
Insomnia, anxiety, and depression are often intertwined in practice and can reinforce one another. If you are more concerned about anxiety, tension, or worry in general, our anxiety test may help. If you are more concerned about low mood, loss of interest, or lack of energy, our depression test may help.