Home1
Psychological tests2
Clinical Deterioration Assessment in Eating Disorders3

Clinical Deterioration Assessment in Eating Disorders Test

After 16 questions completed in about 3 minutes, the Clinical Deterioration Assessment in Eating Disorders Test helps you reflect on how eating-disorder difficulties may affect personal wellbeing, thinking, relationships, and daily functioning. Its profile can highlight areas for further self-understanding and discussion.

Questions: 163 minutes

Clinical Deterioration Assessment in Eating: agreement scale card

September 1, 2026September 1, 2026Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

30,907 views

3,178 completions

2,791 likes

Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

2,791 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Cognitive ImpairmentCI

Measures the degree of disruption in thinking, attention, and concentration related to eating-disorder impact on daily functioning.

example score2/15

2/15Low impactexample score

0 – 4Low impact

5 – 9Moderate impact

10 – 15High impact

A score of 2 falls in the Low impact range, suggesting minimal cognitive difficulties affecting day-to-day functioning in this area.

Social ImpairmentSI

Measures the degree to which eating-disorder symptoms interfere with social relationships, communication, and participation in social life.

example score8/15

8/15Moderate impactexample score

0 – 5Low impact

6 – 10Moderate impact

11 – 15High impact

A score of 8 indicates a moderate level of social impairment, suggesting noticeable difficulties in social interaction and engagement related to the eating disorder.

Personal DeteriorationPD

Measures how much the eating disorder is negatively affecting self-esteem and emotional well-being in the personal sphere.

example score5/18

5/18Low impactexample score

0 – 6Low impact

7 – 12Moderate impact

13 – 18High impact

A score of 5 indicates a low level of personal deterioration, suggesting relatively limited impact on self-esteem and emotional well-being at this time.

Overall Clinical Deterioration ScoreOCDS

Measures the overall degree to which an eating disorder is negatively impacting daily life and functioning.

example score25/48

25/48Elevated impairmentexample score

0 – 15Below threshold

16 – 48Elevated impairment

A score of 25 falls in the Elevated impairment range, indicating a notable level of life impairment related to eating-disorder symptoms.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Therapists treating eating disorders

41%OF USERS

Clinicians use it to quantify how an eating disorder is impairing daily life and to track change across sessions.

Specialist dietitians and teams

34%OF USERS

Multidisciplinary providers use it to monitor functional impact alongside weight, symptoms, and treatment adherence.

Patients in active treatment

25%OF USERS

People receiving care complete it to reflect on how the disorder affects emotions, thinking, and relationships over time.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Cognitive DeclineCD

You?

Average4.2

Typical rangeTypical1.6 – 6.7

Possible0 – 15

Social DeteriorationSD

You?

Average11.2

Typical rangeTypical8.9 – 13.5

Possible0 – 15

Personal DeteriorationPD

You?

Average5.4

Typical rangeTypical3 – 7.9

Possible0 – 18

Total score of clinical deteriorations in eating disordersTsocdied

You?

Average31.4

Typical rangeTypical23.6 – 39.2

Possible0 – 48

Featured On

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Please read each item and indicate the extent to which, over the past month, your eating habits, physical activity, and feelings about your eating, body shape, and weight have affected your life.

- 0: Not at all
- 1
- 2
- 3: Very much
- 0: Not at all
- 1
- 2
- 3: Very much
- 0: Not at all
- 1
- 2
- 3: Very much

These are 3 of the 16 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Clinical Deterioration Assessment in Eating Disorders Test - Description and methodology of the test

eating behavior

psychotherapy

People who want to understand how eating-disorder difficulties are affecting everyday life may use the Clinical Deterioration Assessment in Eating Disorders Test as a structured self-report. This eating disorder assessment can help a respondent identify which concerns deserve closer attention, organize a clearer personal profile, and prepare more focused questions for a discussion about support.

What This Assessment Explores

The questions ask how eating, physical activity, and concerns about eating, shape, and weight have affected the respondent recently. They cover shame, guilt, self-criticism, worry, distraction, concentration, decisions, work, social eating, relationships, and enjoyable activities. The clinical deterioration assessment highlights functional impact rather than isolated symptoms.

The profile separates four related result types:

Personal Deterioration (0-18) measures personal and emotional impact: Low impact 0-6; Moderate impact 7-12; High impact 13-18.
Cognitive Impairment (0-15) measures thinking and attention difficulties: Low impact 0-4; Moderate impact 5-9; High impact 10-15.
Social Impairment (0-15) measures effects on relationships and social life: Low impact 0-5; Moderate impact 6-10; High impact 11-15.
Overall Clinical Deterioration Score (0-48) reflects total life impact: Below threshold 0-15; Elevated impairment 16-48.

A total of 16 is the stated cutoff separating patients with an eating disorder from healthy individuals.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each item uses an ordered four-point response scale, from 0, Not at all, to 3, Very much. The results display separate domain scores and an overall score; higher values indicate more pronounced impairment. This lets the reader see where reported effects are concentrated rather than relying on one global impression.

Content is conceptually consistent with the Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA), the closest published measure for this focus. Bohn and Fairburn’s CIA 3.0 description provides the instrument context, while Jenkins’s 2013 validation study examines its use in a UK eating-disorder service. Within this evidence base, the online questionnaire is an assessment of eating disorder impairment that aligns with the CIA but is not presented as an adaptation or replacement for the published instrument.

Interpretation is limited by the online format: the questionnaire’s displayed bands are interpretation categories, and it has no independently established norms, reliability estimates, or diagnostic accuracy; recall, honest self-report, current mood, and circumstances may influence responses, so the score is a structured indicator of reported impairment rather than a diagnosis and should be read alongside the person’s broader situation.

Author: Bohn, K., Fairburn, C.

Literature:

Bohn, K., Doll, H. A., Cooper, Z., O'Connor, M., Palmer, R. L., & Fairburn, C. G. (2008). The measurement of impairment due to eating disorder psychopathology. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(10), 1105-1110. 10.1016/j.brat.2008.06.012
Bohn, K., & Fairburn, C. G. (2008). Clinical Impairment Assessment Questionnaire (CIA 3.0). In C. G. Fairburn (Ed.), Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eating Disorders (pp. 315-317). New York: Guilford Press.
Jenkins, P. E. (2013). Psychometric validation of the Clinical Impairment Assessment in a UK eating disorder service. Eating Behaviors, 14(2), 241-243. 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2012.12.001

Updated: 2026-09-01