I think it's about "Now" rather than yesterday or tomorrow and is kind of comparable to those pain questions, 0-9 that they ask you for physical pain in the ER or for chronic pain, etc.?

http://www.nccn.org/patients/patient...assessment.asp

Too, other people aren't being evaluated, just you, so you would have to be picking fights with your parents not the other way around :-) If your parents are picking fights with you, then they're not-so-good parents :-) How you respond would be the criteria. It's about your symptoms, not "you".

Everything looks like it is worded to "help" the person being evaluated to me? Kind of asking about "emotional pain" as evidenced in one's symptoms. I would imagine the speed thing is so they can start helping as soon as possible, not "categorize" the person in any way as to what is wrong with them, just how much psychic pain are they in:

http://dpa.state.ky.us/library/manuals/mental/Ch22.html