Dimensional Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (DOCS)

Assess obsessive-compulsive symptom burden across four dimensions and monitor change

Reference information · Questionnaire

Last content update: 2026-10-26
Clinical review: Not independently reviewed
Source jurisdiction: See individual sources
Coverage: Questionnaire

Field	Instrument context
Version	Original English20-item adult DOCS,2009; four complete category descriptions and original item/anchor wording
Population	Adults receiving assessment of obsessive-compulsive symptoms
Respondent	Adult self-report
Recall period	Last month
Purpose	Assess obsessive-compulsive symptom burden across four dimensions and monitor change

Assessment tool

This questionnaire asks you about 4 different types of concerns that you might or might not experience. For each type there is a description of the kinds of thoughts (sometimes called obsessions) and behaviors (sometimes called rituals or compulsions) that are typical of that particular concern, followed by 5 questions about your experiences with these thoughts and behaviors. Please read each description carefully and answer the questions for each category based on your experiences in the last month.

Category 1: Concerns about Germs and Contamination
Examples…
-Thoughts or feelings that you are contaminated because you came into contact with (or were nearby) a certain object or
person.
-The feeling of being contaminated because you were in a certain place (such as a bathroom).
-Thoughts about germs, sickness, or the possibility of spreading contamination.
-Washing your hands, using hand sanitizer gels, showering, changing your clothes, or cleaning objects because of concerns
about contamination.
-Following a certain routine (e.g., in the bathroom, getting dressed) because of contamination
-Avoiding certain people, objects, or places because of contamination.
The next questions ask about your experiences with thoughts and behaviors related to contamination over the last month. Keep
in mind that your experiences might be different than the examples listed above. Please circle the number next to your answer:

01 About how much time have you spent each day thinking about contamination and engaging in washing or cleaning behaviors because of contamination?

02 To what extent have you avoided situations in order to prevent concerns with contamination or having to spend time washing, cleaning, or showering?

03 If you had thoughts about contamination but could not wash, clean, or shower (or otherwise remove the contamination), how distressed or anxious did you become?

04 To what extent has your daily routine (work, school, self-care, social life) been disrupted by contamination concerns and excessive washing, showering, cleaning, or avoidance behaviors?

No disruption at all.0A little disruption, but I mostly function well.1Many things are disrupted, but I can still manage.2My life is disrupted in many ways and I have trouble managing.3My life is completely disrupted and I cannot function at all.4

05 How difficult is it for you to disregard thoughts about contamination and refrain from behaviors such as washing, showering, cleaning, and other decontamination routines when you try to do so?

Category 2: Concerns about being Responsible for Harm, Injury, or Bad Luck
Examples…
-A doubt that you might have made a mistake that could cause something awful or harmful to happen.
-The thought that a terrible accident, disaster, injury, or other bad luck might have occurred and you weren’t careful enough to
prevent it.
-The thought that you could prevent harm or bad luck by doing things in a certain way, counting to certain numbers, or by
avoiding certain “bad” numbers or words.
-Thought of losing something important that you are unlikely to lose (e.g., wallet, identify theft, papers).
-Checking things such as locks, switches, your wallet, etc. more often than is necessary.
-Repeatedly asking or checking for reassurance that something bad did not (or will not) happen.
-Mentally reviewing past events to make sure you didn’t do anything wrong.
-The need to follow a special routine because it will prevent harm or disasters from occurring.
-The need to count to certain numbers, or avoid certain bad numbers, due to the fear of harm.
The next questions ask about your experiences with thoughts and behaviors related to harm and disasters over the last month.
Keep in mind that your experiences might be slightly different than the examples listed above. Please circle the number next to
your answer:

06 About how much time have you spent each day thinking about the possibility of harm or disasters and engaging in checking or efforts to get reassurance that such things do not (or did not) occur?

07 To what extent have you avoided situations so that you did not have to check for danger or worry about possible harm or disasters?

08 When you think about the possibility of harm or disasters, or if you cannot check or get reassurance about these things, how distressed or anxious did you become?

09 To what extent has your daily routine (work, school, self-care, social life) been disrupted by thoughts about harm or disasters and excessive checking or asking for reassurance?

10 How difficult is it for you to disregard thoughts about possible harm or disasters and refrain from checking or reassurance-seeking behaviors when you try to do so?

Category 3: Unacceptable Thoughts
Examples…
-Unpleasant thoughts about sex, immorality, or violence that come to mind against your will.
-Thoughts about doing awful, improper, or embarrassing things that you don’t really want to do.
-Repeating an action or following a special routine because of a bad thought.
-Mentally performing an action or saying prayers to get rid of an unwanted or unpleasant thought.
-Avoidance of certain people, places, situations or other triggers of unwanted or unpleasant thoughts
The next questions ask about your experiences with unwanted thoughts that come to mind against your will and behaviors
designed to deal with these kinds of thoughts over the last month. Keep in mind that your experiences might be slightly different
than the examples listed above. Please circle the number next to your answer:

11 About how much time have you spent each day with unwanted unpleasant thoughts and with behavioral or mental actions to deal with them?

12 To what extent have you been avoiding situations, places, objects and other reminders (e.g., numbers, people) that trigger unwanted or unpleasant thoughts?

13 When unwanted or unpleasant thoughts come to mind against your will how distressed or anxious did you become?

14 To what extent has your daily routine (work, school, self-care, social life) been disrupted by unwanted and unpleasant thoughts and efforts to avoid or deal with such thoughts?

15 How difficult is it for you to disregard unwanted or unpleasant thoughts and refrain from using behavioral or mental acts to deal with them when you try to do so?

Category 4: Concerns about Symmetry, Completeness, and the Need for Things to be “Just Right”
Examples…
-The need for symmetry, evenness, balance, or exactness.
-Feelings that something isn’t “just right.”
-Repeating a routine action until it feels “just right” or “balanced.”
-Counting senseless things (e.g., ceiling tiles, words in a sentence).
-Unnecessarily arranging things in “order.”
-Having to say something over and over in the same way until it feels “just right.”
The next questions ask about your experiences with feelings that something is not “just right” and behaviors designed to achieve
order, symmetry, or balance over the last month. Keep in mind that your experiences might be slightly different than the
examples listed above. Please circle the number next to your answer:

16 About how much time have you spent each day with unwanted thoughts about symmetry, order, or balance and with behaviors intended to achieve symmetry, order or balance?

17 To what extent have you been avoiding situations, places or objects associated with feelings that something is not symmetrical or “just right?”

18 When you have the feeling of something being “not just right,” how distressed or anxious did you become?

19 To what extent has your daily routine (work, school, self-care, social life) been disrupted by the feeling of things being “not just right,” and efforts to put things in order or make them feel right?

20 How difficult is it for you to disregard thoughts about the lack of symmetry and order, and refrain from urges to arrange things in order or repeat certain behaviors when you try to do so?

©2009 Jonathan S. Abramowitz. Abramowitz JS and colleagues(2010), Assessment of obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions: Development and evaluation of the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. Psychological Assessment22:180–198.

Responses stay in this page’s memory. Reset or leave the page to clear them. No patient identifiers are collected.

Interpretation & limitations

Each dimension sums five0–4ratings, range0–20; the overall score sums all20ratings, range0–80. Higher scores indicate greater symptom burden.
The owner reports different total-score screening guides for different comparisons:18 against nonclinical individuals and21 against people with other anxiety disorders. These comparisons have imperfect accuracy and do not establish an OCD diagnosis.
The owner has not established mild, moderate or severe categories. No unsupported severity bands are applied.
Review the individual dimensions, symptoms, functional disruption and clinical context. All20responses are required for this website report.
This free clinical form must not be placed behind paid access or used for profit without separate owner permission. Changes to the instrument also require permission.
No automatic diagnosis, medication change or declaration of safety.

References · 3

Owner’s complete English20-item DOCS, including category examples and all response wording
Owner’s clinical-use grant and conditions on profit, industry trials and changes · Jonathan Abramowitz’s official DOCS site permits free use for clinical assessment and most research. This implementation is limited to the existing free public questionnaire route: no fee, subscription, paywall or sale of DOCS access. Original questions, instructions, category examples and response wording are preserved. Profit from DOCS use, industry-sponsored trials, modifications or alternate forms require separate owner permission and any applicable fee.
Owner’s total/subscale scoring and interpretation guidance

Dimensional Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (DOCS)

Interpretation & limitations

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