Brief Description
The Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) is a brief self-report questionnaire designed to assess how much a person's mental health issues or emotional problems are affecting their ability to function in key areas of daily life. It measures the impact of psychological or physical symptoms on work, social activities, and personal relationships. The WSAS is widely used in both clinical and research settings to track functional impairment related to mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Of note, the WSAS can also be used to assess functional impairment of other physiological conditions, such as chronic insomnia or chronic fatigue syndrome. The WSAS consists of 5 items, each rated on a 9-point Likert scale. Each item is scored from 0 to 8, where 0 indicates "Not at all impaired" and 8 indicates "Very severely impaired." Respondents are asked to rate how much their problems have affected various areas of functioning (e.g, work, household tasks, close relationships) in the past week.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
5
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Weekly
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The WSAS contains 5 items that are scored on a 9-point Likert scale from 0 (“Not at all impaired”) to 7 (“Very severely impaired”). The total score is the sum of the five items, with possible scores ranging from 0 to 40. Higher scores indicate greater impairment in functioning. Based on data from a population of those with depression and OCD, there is evidence that total scores can be classified as follows:
Total score | Classification |
>20 | Moderately severe or worse impairment |
10-20 | Significant functional impairment |
<10 | Subclinical impairment |
Blueprint Adjustments
N/A
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 2-3 minutes
The WSAS is commonly used to assess functional impairment of mental health conditions (e.g., Depression, Anxiety, PTSD), and it can also be used with individuals who have chronic physical health conditions that impact their functional abilities (e.g., chronic pain, fibromyalgia).
The WSAS focuses on functional impairment and may not directly assess the severity of the underlying mental health condition itself. As such, the WSAS is a useful adjunct for monitoring impairment as compared to monitoring symptom severity.
The scale can be used to track changes in functional impairment over time, making it a valuable tool for monitoring therapeutic progress.
The way functional impairment is experienced and expressed can vary across cultures. What is considered important in terms of work, social engagement, or relationships may differ, and clinicians should be mindful of these cultural differences when interpreting scores.
Citation
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