Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 23, 2026

Panic Disorder Severity Scale

The Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) is a questionnaire developed for measuring the severity of panic disorder. The clinician-administered PDSS is intended to assess severity and considered a reliable tool for monitoring of treatment outcome. Self-report form of the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS-SR) is used to detect possible symptoms of panic disorder, and suggest the need for a formal diagnostic assessment.

Last revised
Jun 23, 2026
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Panic Disorder Severity Scale
Purposemeasure severity of panic disorder

The Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) is a questionnaire developed for measuring the severity of panic disorder.1 The clinician-administered PDSS is intended to assess severity and considered a reliable tool for monitoring of treatment outcome.2 Self-report form of the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS-SR) is used to detect possible symptoms of panic disorder, and suggest the need for a formal diagnostic assessment.3

The PDSS consists of seven items, each rated on a 5-point scale, which ranges from 0 to 4. The items assess panic frequency, distress during panic, panic-focused anticipatory anxiety, phobic avoidance of situations, phobic avoidance of physical sensations, impairment in work functioning, and impairment in social functioning. The overall assessment is made by a total score, which is calculated by summing the scores for all seven items. The total scores range from 0 to 28.

The PDSS-SR is used for screening and the scores 9 and above suggest the need for a formal diagnostic assessment.2

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Shear MK, Brown TA, Barlow DH, Money R, Sholomskas DE, Woods SW, et al. (1997). "Multicenter collaborative panic disorder severity scale". Am J Psychiatry. 154 (11): 1571–5. doi:10.1176/ajp.154.11.1571. PMID 9356566.
  2. Shear MK, Rucci P, Williams J, Frank E, Grochocinski V, Vander Bilt J, et al. (2001). "Reliability and validity of the Panic Disorder Severity Scale: replication and extension". Journal of Psychiatric Research. 35 (5): 293–6. doi:10.1016/S0022-3956(01)00028-0. PMID 11591432.
  3. Houck PR, Spiegel DA, Shear MK, Rucci P (2002). "Reliability of the self-report version of the panic disorder severity scale". Depress Anxiety. 15 (4): 183–5. doi:10.1002/da.10049. PMID 12112724. S2CID 25176812.
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