Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS)
Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS; Gossop 1995): 5-item measure of psychological dependence.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Substance
- Heroin (cutoff >= 5)
- Use felt out of control
- 1 — sometimes
- Anxious about missing a dose
- 1 — sometimes
- Worried about your use
- 1 — sometimes
- Wished you could stop
- 1 — sometimes
- Difficulty stopping / going without
- 1 — quite difficult
Result: SDS 5 of 15 — at or above the heroin dependence cutoff (>= 5).
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Cutoffs
- heroin >= 5, cocaine >= 3, amphetamines >= 5, cannabis >= 4, alcohol >= 4; no fixed cutoff for other substances.
What you enter
- Substance
- Use felt out of control (0-3)
- Anxious about missing a dose (0-3)
- Worried about your use (0-3)
- Wished you could stop (0-3)
- Difficulty stopping / going without (0-3)
How this is calculated
- Items
- 5 items each 0-3 (item 5 not-difficult 0 to impossible 3) = 0-15.
Gossop M, Darke S, Griffiths P, et al. The Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS): psychometric properties in samples of heroin, cocaine and amphetamine users. Addiction. 1995;90(5):607-614. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.