Background
The Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale (ASRM) is a widely used self-report screening instrument developed to assess the presence and severity of manic and hypomanic symptoms commonly associated with bipolar-spectrum conditions.
The ASRM focuses on recent changes in mood, energy, sleep, activity level, confidence, and speech patterns. The questionnaire is designed to provide a rapid indication of elevated mood states and behavioral activation that may occur during manic or hypomanic episodes.
The ASRM explores several important symptom domains:
Positive Mood
Self-Confidence
Sleep Patterns
Speech
Activity Level
Positive Mood measures unusually elevated mood, cheerfulness, emotional excitement, and feelings of excessive happiness.
Self-Confidence measures increased confidence, inflated self-esteem, grandiosity, and unusually strong feelings of personal capability.
Sleep Patterns measure reduced need for sleep, decreased fatigue despite limited rest, and unusually high energy levels.
Speech measures increased talkativeness, rapid speech, pressured speech, and difficulty being interrupted during conversation.
Activity Level measures heightened social activity, increased productivity, excessive energy, impulsive engagement, and increased goal-directed behavior.
The ASRM is commonly used in clinical screening, psychological research, mood monitoring, and educational settings. The questionnaire is intended as a screening and symptom-monitoring tool and should not be used as a standalone diagnostic instrument.
Procedure
Participants are asked to answer each statement based on how they have been feeling recently, particularly during the past week.
For each item, participants select the response that best describes their current mood, behavior, energy level, sleep pattern, and activity level.
The assessment is brief and designed to capture recent experiences related to elevated mood and behavioral activation.
Participation
This assessment is intended for adolescents and adults and is designed for educational, research, self-reflection, and psychological screening purposes only.
Results should not be considered a clinical diagnosis or substitute for a professional psychiatric, psychological, or medical evaluation.
Individuals experiencing severe mood changes, impulsive behavior, emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, or significant impairment in daily functioning are strongly encouraged to seek evaluation from a qualified mental health professional.
Scoring & Interpretation
Responses are scored on a 0–4 scale based on the severity and frequency of manic or hypomanic symptoms.
Higher scores generally indicate stronger levels of elevated mood, increased activity, reduced need for sleep, heightened confidence, and behavioral activation associated with mania-spectrum experiences.
The ASRM is commonly used as a screening and monitoring instrument for bipolar-spectrum symptoms and may help identify individuals who could benefit from further clinical evaluation.
Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale (ASRM) Questionnaire
Below is the Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale (ASRM), a digitally adapted 5- items self-assessment questionnaire. This assessment does not provide a clinical diagnosis, medical determination, or substitute for professional psychological evaluation.
Psychometric Norms
Current normative data for theCurrent normative data for the Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale (ASRM) are derived from 2 anonymous participant responses collected through TraitProfiler between 2026 and 2026. All response data are collected anonymously and are intended exclusively for educational, psychometric, and non-commercial research purposes.
Sources
- Altman, E. G., Hedeker, D., Peterson, J. L., & Davis, J. M. The Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale: A self-rating scale for assessing manic symptoms.