Read the total without turning it into a diagnosis
The original 15-item PTQ combines recalled repetition, intrusiveness, difficulty disengaging, perceived lack of usefulness and occupied attention. The total has no severity band in this edition.
Add all 15 selected 0–4 values without reversal. The possible total is 0–60. All fifteen must be numeric; one unscored answer withholds the total. No prorating or conversion to a percentage is used.
Use the published PTQ reference period
PTQ asks about the way you typically think when considering negative experiences or problems. It does not specify the past week, month or a single event. This edition retains that reference and the original English item order. The new Simplified Chinese wording is a working translation, with no claim that it has the original English or German version’s measurement evidence.
Follow a total back to its component sums
The fictional fifteen-answer example in the method note gives core characteristics 18, perceived unproductiveness 6 and occupied attention 5. Their sum is 29 out of the possible 60. This is an illustrative calculation, not a typical score, a clinical cutoff or a 29-percent chance of anything. The three parts have different item counts, so do not rank them by raw sums.
A repeated question can differ from a useful review
Imagine revisiting an awkward conversation. One review identifies a misunderstanding and a question to clarify later; another repeats the same unresolved why without new information. These fictional descriptions illustrate the questionnaire’s process focus. The form does not know whether a real event was dangerous, whether reflection was necessary or whether someone else’s conduct needs addressing.
Withhold a total instead of estimating it
The unscored option is an added web choice for uncertainty or declining an answer, not part of the original five choices. One such answer withholds its subscale and the overall total. Other complete subscales remain visible, and all-unscored can finish and open every full reading. This strict completeness policy is editorial; it is not a published missing-data norm.
Bring context to a conversation about support
If repetitive thinking is distressing or interfering with everyday life, you can discuss the experience with a qualified mental-health professional without waiting for a particular score. You may note when it happens and what you need help with, without submitting private thought content here. A low total does not rule out other difficulties, and a high total does not identify a disorder or prescribe treatment.
Separate the original study from this web edition
The cited 2011 development paper examined German and English versions; those findings do not validate this Chinese translation, new web presentation or individual diagnostic decisions. Its group comparisons are not personal thresholds. The original English material is credited and linked under the PDF’s CC BY 3.0 notice. Translation, unscored handling and explanations are identified as FermatMind adaptations, without author endorsement.