Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS)
5-item measure of functional impairment due to mental health problems
Wondering how much your mental health is affecting your daily life? The WSAS is a 5-item scale that measures functional impairment across work, home management, social leisure, private leisure, and close relationships. 0-8 per item, total 0-40. Clinically significant at >=10. About 2-3 minutes.
What Is Functional Impairment?
Functional impairment is the real-world impact of mental health problems on your ability to get through daily life. Unlike symptom severity (how anxious or depressed you feel), functional impairment asks: how much is this actually getting in the way?
The distinction matters. Two people can have similar symptom scores but very different levels of impairment — one might still manage work and relationships okay, while the other finds basic daily tasks overwhelming. That's why the WSAS is a useful complement to symptom scales like the PHQ-9 or GAD-7. It captures what symptom checklists miss.
About the WSAS
The Work and Social Adjustment Scale was originally developed by Isaac Marks in 1986. Mundt, Marks, Shear and Greist (2002) published its psychometric properties in the British Journal of Psychiatry. It's a 5-item self-report scale, each item rated 0-8 (0 = not at all impaired, 8 = very severely impaired), total 0-40.
Psychometric properties:
- Internal consistency: Cronbach's alpha = 0.70-0.94
- Correlation with clinician interviews: r = 0.81-0.86
- Correlation with depression severity: r = 0.76
- Correlation with OCD severity: r = 0.61
Scoring
Each item covers one life domain:
- Work (including study, training, volunteering)
- Home management
- Social leisure activities
- Private leisure activities
- Close relationships
- 0-10: Low functional impairment
- 11-20: Significant functional impairment (clinically significant)
- 21-40: Moderately severe impairment — professional support recommended
Scoring Guide
Total 0-40. 0-10=Low impairment, 11-20=Significant impairment (clinically significant), 21-40=Moderately severe impairment. Cutoff >=10 indicates significant functional impairment. Note: Screening tool, not diagnostic.Result Interpretation
After completing the 5 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.