Evidence-based assessment/Instruments/Dimensional Obsessive Compulsive Scale

The Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) is a 20-item self-report instrument that assesses the severity of Obsessive–compulsive disorder(OCD) symptoms along four empirically supported theme-based dimensions: (a) contamination, (b) responsibility for harm and mistakes, (c) incompleteness/symmetry, and (d) unacceptable (taboo) thoughts.

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Wikipedia has more about this subject: Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale

The DOCS was developed in 2010 by a team of experts on OCD led by Jonathan Abramowitz to improve upon existing OCD measures and advance the assessment and understanding of OCD. The DOCS contains four subscales (corresponding to the four symptom dimensions) that have been shown to have good reliability, validity, diagnostic sensitivity, and sensitivity to treatment effects in a variety of settings cross-culturally and in different languages. As such, the DOCS meets the needs of clinicians and researchers who wish to measure current OCD symptoms or assess changes in symptoms over time (e.g., over the course of treatment).

Scoring and Interpretation

Each of the four DOCS subscales begins with a general description and broad inclusive examples of the obsessions and compulsions within the particular symptom dimension. Respondents are next asked to consider any obsessions and compulsions within that symptom dimension that they have experienced within the last month and rate on a scale from 0 (no symptoms) to 4 (extreme symptoms) about (1) the time occupied by obsessions and compulsions, (2) avoidance behavior, (3) associated distress, (4) functional interference, and (5) difficulty disregarding the obsessions and refraining from the compulsions.

The DOCS subscales assesses the severity of the patient's own symptoms, rather than pre-defined symptoms as in most OCD measures. Within each subscale, the five item scores are summed to produce a subscale score (range = 0-20). The four subscale scores can be summed to produce an overall DOCS total score (range = 0-80).

A DOCS total score of 18 optimally distinguishes between someone with OCD and someone without a psychiatric diagnosis; while a score of 21 optimally distinguishes between someone with OCD and someone with an anxiety disorder. As of this time, there are no empirically derived cutoff scores for mild, moderate, or severe OCD symptoms.