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Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12)3

Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12) Test

In 3 minutes, see how online symptom searching may fuel health anxiety. This brief 12-item check gives clear, actionable insight for screening and tracking change.

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Questions: 123 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

30,858 views

2,427 completions

1,835 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

14/15

Compulsivity (C)

Measures how difficult it is to control online health-information searching when it becomes repetitive and interferes with daily activities.

Low

Moderate

High

3 – 7: Low | 8 – 11: Moderate | 12 – 15: High

A score of 14 falls in the High range, indicating very frequent and hard-to-control health-related searching that is likely to disrupt other activities.

example score

10/15

Reassurance-Seeking (RS)

Measures how strongly a person seeks professional confirmation of symptoms after searching for health information online.

Low

Moderate

High

3 – 7: Low | 8 – 11: Moderate | 12 – 15: High

A score of 10 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable tendency to want reassurance from professionals after online symptom searches.

example score

8/15

Distress (D)

Measures the intensity of negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, panic, irritability) triggered by searching for medical information online.

Low distress

Moderate distress

High distress

3 – 6: Low distress | 7 – 11: Moderate distress | 12 – 15: High distress

A score of 8 falls in the Moderate distress range, suggesting noticeable but not extreme negative emotional reactions during online health searches.

example score

5/15

Excessiveness (E)

Measures how repeatedly a person searches for health information online across multiple sessions.

Low

Moderate

High

3 – 6: Low | 7 – 11: Moderate | 12 – 15: High

A score of 5 falls in the Low range, suggesting relatively infrequent repetition of online medical searches.

example score

31/60

Cyberchondria Severity (CS)

Measures the overall severity of cyberchondria, reflecting how strongly online health-information searching is linked to anxiety and stress.

Low

Moderate

High

12 – 27: Low | 28 – 43: Moderate | 44 – 60: High

A score of 31 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable tendency toward repeated online symptom checking that can be accompanied by increased worry or tension.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Worried symptom googlers

46%OF USERS

People who frequently search symptoms online and end up feeling more anxious, confused, or panicked afterward.

Anxiety-prone health checkers

34%OF USERS

People with general anxiety or health anxiety who use the test to see whether online medical searching is feeding their worries.

Clinicians and researchers

20%OF USERS

Psychologists, psychotherapists, and survey teams who use the scale to screen, monitor, or study cyberchondria in groups.

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.

Compulsiveness (C)

Average

11.4

Normal range

9.9 — 12.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Insecurity (I)

Average

10.6

Normal range

8.6 — 12.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Distress (D)

Average

10.5

Normal range

8.5 — 12.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Excessiveness (E)

Average

10.5

Normal range

8.6 — 12.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Severity of Cyberchondria (SoC)

Average

29.2

Normal range

21 — 37.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Many people have experienced feeling unwell at least once in their lives and have searched the Internet for information about possible disease symptoms. Please rate the following statements according to the extent to which they applied to you during the past week. Important: These statements do not refer to symptoms of illnesses diagnosed by healthcare professionals; they refer only to symptoms of illnesses that you personally suspect in yourself.

- Never (not at all)
- Rarely (once or twice a week)
- Sometimes (several times a week)
- Often (every day)
- Always (several times a day)
- Never (not at all)
- Rarely (once or twice a week)
- Sometimes (several times a week)
- Often (every day)
- Always (several times a day)
- Never (not at all)
- Rarely (once or twice a week)
- Sometimes (several times a week)
- Often (every day)
- Always (several times a day)

These are 3 of the 12 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12) Test - Symptoms and Signs

hypochondria

cyberpsychology

health

This self-report measure assesses the severity of distress and impairment related to excessive online health-information searching. The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12) is commonly used as a brief screening tool to quantify cyberchondria-related behaviors and associated anxiety symptoms.

The instrument contains 12 items and typically requires about 3 minutes to complete. Items ask respondents to rate the frequency or intensity of experiences such as repetitive searching, escalating worry after searching, and difficulty disengaging from health-related information.

Developed by D. Berle and V. Starcevic, the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12) can be used in clinical and research settings to support symptom monitoring and to inform case formulation when problematic health-related internet use is suspected. Scores should be interpreted in context and are not a stand-alone diagnostic indicator.

Author: D. Berle, V. Starcevic

Literature: Taylor, S., & Asmundson, G. J. G. Health anxiety: Clinical and research perspectives on hypochondriasis and related conditions. Wiley. 2004.; Starcevic, V., & Berle, D. Cyberchondria: Towards a better understanding of excessive health-related Internet use. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics. 2013.; McElroy, E., & Shevlin, M. The development and initial validation of the cyberchondria severity scale (CSS). Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 2014.; McElroy, E., Shevlin, M., Kearney, M., Touhey, J., Evans, J., & Cooke, Y. The CSS-12: Development and validation of a short-form version of the cyberchondria severity scale. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking. 2019.