Scale Overview & Construct
18-item scale measuring mentalizing capacity: awareness of one's own mental states (Self-RF) and ability to understand others' mental states (Other-RF).
Purpose & Measurement Objectives
Instrument Specifications
Academic Citation & Instrument Provenance
When referencing this instrument in research, academic theses, or clinical institutional audits, please cite the original author publication:
Governance, Boundaries & Ethical Use
Imported from the OpenScales open item-bank project. This build reports a simple mean-agreement score per subscale. The officially validated RFQ scoring (Fonagy et al., 2016) instead applies a non-linear "U-shaped" certainty transformation (RFQ_u / RFQ_c), where both extreme agreement AND extreme disagreement can indicate poor mentalizing on certain items — that transformation is not implemented here. This specific digital implementation has not been independently validated by PsiQ.
License: CC BY 4.0. Citation: Fonagy et al. (2016), PLoS ONE, 11(7): e0158678.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-18)?
18-item scale measuring mentalizing capacity: awareness of one's own mental states (Self-RF) and ability to understand others' mental states (Other-RF).
How long does the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-18) take?
It takes about 8 minutes to answer all 18 questions. You can go at your own pace.
Is this test free, and is it available in Hindi?
Yes, it is free with a PsiQ account. The questions and answer options are available in English, Hindi and Hinglish.
Can this test diagnose a condition?
No. Online self-report scales are for self-reflection, education and research, not diagnosis. If you are worried about your mental health, please speak to a qualified mental-health professional.