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Somatic Symptom Disorder B-Criterion Scale (SSD-12)3

Somatic Symptom Disorder B-Criterion Scale (SSD-12) Test

To reflect on how physical symptoms affect thoughts, feelings, and daily life, take the Somatic Symptom Disorder B-Criterion Scale (SSD-12) Test. It contains 12 questions and takes about 3 minutes, offering a profile of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive responses that can support clearer self-reflection about health-related concerns.

Questions: 123 minutes

Somatic Symptom Disorder B-Criterion Scale: agreement scale card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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1,712 completions

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Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Behavioral AspectsBA

Measures the extent to which a person’s actions and habits are influenced by concern about somatic symptoms (e.g., reassurance seeking, avoidance, or checking).

example score5/16

5/16Moderateexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 16Moderate

A score of 5 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting some noticeable symptom-related behaviors that may affect daily activities at times.

Emotional AspectsEA

Measures the intensity of anxiety, worry, and other emotional reactions associated with somatic symptoms.

example score11/16

11/16Elevatedexample score

0 – 5Low

6 – 16Elevated

A score of 11 falls in the Elevated range, suggesting notable emotional involvement (e.g., worry or anxiety) in response to bodily sensations.

Cognitive AspectsCA

Measures the intensity and intrusiveness of thoughts related to bodily symptoms, such as worry and interpreting sensations as signs of illness.

example score8/16

8/16Elevatedexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 16Elevated

A score of 8 falls in the Elevated range, suggesting more frequent or stronger symptom-focused thoughts and worry than typically seen at lower scores.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People with ongoing symptoms

41%OF USERS

Those who have persistent physical complaints and want to understand how much worry, focus, and behavior around the symptoms are affecting daily life.

Primary care visitors

34%OF USERS

Patients in general medical settings where symptoms don’t fully match test results and stress-related patterns need quick clarification.

Therapy and counseling clients

25%OF USERS

People already working on anxiety, stress, or trauma who want to check whether bodily sensations are driving emotional distress and coping habits.

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

Behavioral AspectsBA

You?

Average11

Typical rangeTypical8.1 – 13.9

Possible0 – 16

Emotional AspectsEA

You?

Average9.8

Typical rangeTypical7.8 – 11.8

Possible0 – 16

Cognitive AspectsCA

You?

Average6.6

Typical rangeTypical4.2 – 8.9

Possible0 – 16

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Nearly everyone experiences physical symptoms from time to time, such as headaches or a rapid heartbeat. The following statements concern your thoughts and feelings about physical symptoms and how you cope with these symptoms. For each statement, please select the response that best describes you, using the response scale provided. Please note that there are no right or wrong answers.

- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often

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

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Somatic Symptom Disorder B-Criterion Scale (SSD-12) Test - Description and methodology of the test

somatics

For people who notice that bodily symptoms shape attention, emotions, or everyday functioning, the Somatic Symptom Disorder B-Criterion Scale (SSD-12) Test offers a structured way to examine those responses. This somatic symptom disorder test is intended for personal reflection on health-related thoughts and reactions, with results showing which areas appear less prominent or more strongly involved.

What This Assessment Explores

Rather than judging whether a symptom has a medical cause, the assessment examines how a person interprets and responds to physical discomfort. Its themes include illness-related thoughts, fear and worry, health-focused attention, and effects on concentration, daily activities, care seeking, or avoidance.

These are the areas represented in the result:

Behavioral Aspects (0-16) reflects symptom-related behaviors and their functional impact; Low 0-4, Moderate 5-16.
Emotional Aspects (0-16) reflects anxiety and worry about symptoms; Low 0-5, Elevated 6-16.
Cognitive Aspects (0-16) reflects illness-related interpretations and excessive health concern; Low 0-4, Elevated 5-16.

For someone using this SSD-12 questionnaire, higher results indicate a more prominent response pattern: behavioral scores point to greater functional impact, emotional scores to stronger worry, and cognitive scores to more persistent illness-related interpretations.

Methodology and Evidence Base

The items are first-person statements about bodily symptoms and their consequences. Each uses a five-step frequency scale from Never to Very often, so answers reflect how regularly an experience occurs rather than a yes-or-no judgment. Respondents choose one of five frequency options, from Never to Very often, and receive three displayed domain results with the stated bands. The questionnaire does not document how individual responses are transformed into those displayed scores.

The questionnaire is conceptually consistent with the published SSD-12 instrument, a somatic symptom scale addressing psychological features of the DSM-5 somatic symptom disorder B criterion. Studies of that published instrument examined its development, validation, factorial structure, and population norms. Those findings belong to the published instrument and do not establish equivalent validation or norms for this online questionnaire.

Interpret the result as a pattern across behavioral, emotional, and cognitive responses. Current illness, uncertainty, stress, healthcare experiences, and self-awareness can influence answers. The profile can guide reflection or discussion, but it cannot by itself establish a medical explanation or psychiatric diagnosis.

Author: Francis J. Keefe

Literature:

Toussaint, A., Murray, A. M., Voigt, K., Herzog, A., Gierk, B., Kroenke, K., Rief, W., Henningsen, P., & Löwe, B. (2016). Development and Validation of the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12). Psychosomatic Medicine, 78(1), 5-12. 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000240
Toussaint, A., Löwe, B., Brähler, E., & Jordan, P. (2017). The Somatic Symptom Disorder - B Criteria Scale (SSD-12): Factorial structure, validity and population-based norms. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 97, 9-17. 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.03.017

Updated: 2025-10-02