Youth Emotional Regulation Assessment
A detailed private Backing U self-assessment designed to help you reflect on young people's ability to understand and manage strong emotions without becoming overwhelmed, shut down or highly reactive. It looks across emotions going from small to huge very quickly, finding it hard to calm down once I am really upset, saying or doing things in the moment that I regret later, shutting down or avoiding people when feelings get too strong and not knowing what I am feeling until it has already become overwhelming. The assessment contains 20 questions and is intended to give you a structured wellbeing snapshot, highlight the areas having the greatest effect, and provide practical recommendations for what to do next. It is not designed to diagnose a condition or replace an individual professional assessment.
The Youth Emotional Regulation Assessment is a Backing U educational wellbeing and self-reflection tool. It is not a validated diagnostic instrument, does not provide a clinical diagnosis and does not replace individual assessment or advice from a qualified professional. For young people, results should be interpreted in context and discussed with a trusted adult or qualified professional when concerns are significant. Scores are influenced by how questions are understood and by the timeframe selected. If several items are marked N/A, the total may be lower and should be interpreted cautiously; individual responses may be more informative than the total score. If difficulties are severe, rapidly worsening, affecting basic functioning or creating safety concerns, seek appropriate professional or urgent support. External resources are provided for further reading and support only. They are operated by independent Australian or UK organisations and their inclusion does not imply endorsement of this Backing U tool.
I have noticed emotions going from small to huge very quickly.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Emotions going from small to huge very quickly has been difficult to ignore, switch off or manage once it starts.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Emotions going from small to huge very quickly has affected my concentration, mood, sleep, relationships, responsibilities or usual routine.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have changed, delayed, avoided or pushed through things because of emotions going from small to huge very quickly.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have noticed finding it hard to calm down once I am really upset.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Finding it hard to calm down once I am really upset has been difficult to ignore, switch off or manage once it starts.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Finding it hard to calm down once I am really upset has affected my concentration, mood, sleep, relationships, responsibilities or usual routine.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have changed, delayed, avoided or pushed through things because of finding it hard to calm down once I am really upset.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have noticed saying or doing things in the moment that I regret later.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Saying or doing things in the moment that I regret later has been difficult to ignore, switch off or manage once it starts.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Saying or doing things in the moment that I regret later has affected my concentration, mood, sleep, relationships, responsibilities or usual routine.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have changed, delayed, avoided or pushed through things because of saying or doing things in the moment that I regret later.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have noticed shutting down or avoiding people when feelings get too strong.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Shutting down or avoiding people when feelings get too strong has been difficult to ignore, switch off or manage once it starts.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Shutting down or avoiding people when feelings get too strong has affected my concentration, mood, sleep, relationships, responsibilities or usual routine.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have changed, delayed, avoided or pushed through things because of shutting down or avoiding people when feelings get too strong.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have noticed not knowing what I am feeling until it has already become overwhelming.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Not knowing what I am feeling until it has already become overwhelming has been difficult to ignore, switch off or manage once it starts.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Not knowing what I am feeling until it has already become overwhelming has affected my concentration, mood, sleep, relationships, responsibilities or usual routine.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
I have changed, delayed, avoided or pushed through things because of not knowing what I am feeling until it has already become overwhelming.
Choose 0 if this has not applied and 10 if it has applied very strongly or almost all the time. There are no right or wrong answers. Use N/A only if the question genuinely does not fit your situation.
Recommended next steps, reading & support
Suggested Australian / UK reading and support resources (external sites): headspace – Anxiety in young people: https://headspace.org.au/explore-topics/for-young-people/anxiety/ | Kids Helpline – Anxiety: https://www.kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/anxiety | Kids Helpline – How to manage anxiety: https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/how-manage-anxiety | Lifeline – Support Toolkit: https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/support-toolkit. Young people can also contact Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 for free 24/7 support. These links are provided as independent educational and support resources; inclusion does not imply that the external organisation has reviewed or endorsed this Backing U assessment. Use your result as a starting point, review the questions that stand out most, choose realistic next steps, and seek professional support where difficulties are persistent, worsening or affecting safety or everyday functioning.
Keep or share a copy of your result
You can email a copy of this result to yourself. You can separately choose whether Backing U may receive an anonymous copy of your responses and result for quality improvement and research.
The Youth Emotional Regulation Assessment is a Backing U educational wellbeing and self-reflection tool. It is not a validated diagnostic instrument, does not provide a clinical diagnosis and does not replace individual assessment or advice from a qualified professional. For young people, results should be interpreted in context and discussed with a trusted adult or qualified professional when concerns are significant. Scores are influenced by how questions are understood and by the timeframe selected. If several items are marked N/A, the total may be lower and should be interpreted cautiously; individual responses may be more informative than the total score. If difficulties are severe, rapidly worsening, affecting basic functioning or creating safety concerns, seek appropriate professional or urgent support. External resources are provided for further reading and support only. They are operated by independent Australian or UK organisations and their inclusion does not imply endorsement of this Backing U tool.