Histrionic Personality Disorder Test

Individuals with histrionic personality disorder are hard to overlook, as their primary goal is to attract the heightened attention of those around them.

According to the DSM-5, histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a clinical syndrome characterized by excessive dramatization, emotional instability, and superficiality. People with this disorder constantly seek to be the center of attention, often behaving provocatively, overtly sexual, or seductively, and theatrically exaggerating emotions.

People with HPD tend to be selfish and display a lack of empathy towards others. Nevertheless, such behavior can be appealing—individuals diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder often have numerous admirers. This disorder is not particularly rare, affecting approximately 2-3% of the adult population. It is believed that women are more likely to suffer from this condition, but some studies suggest that the prevalence of this syndrome is similar among both men and women.

Developed in 2014 by Christopher J. Ferguson and Charles Negy, this short test for histrionic personality disorder is based on the core symptoms of individuals diagnosed with HPD. It is designed to determine whether your behavior exhibits signs of this disorder. The test consists of 11 questions and takes only about 2 minutes to complete.

Ferguson & Negy (2014). Development of a brief screening questionnaire for histrionic personality symptoms. Personality & Individual Differences, 66, 124-127.