Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale

SDS — 20 questions — ~5 min

A 20-question self-report measure of depression. Fill it in together in session, or send it to a client to complete at home.

Before you start

Read each statement and choose how often it has applied to you recently. There are no right or wrong answers.

Answers stay on this device and aren't saved anywhere.

Send to a client

Your client fills it in at home, from a private link with your name and logo. Results are scored and saved to your account, so you can track them over time.

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About the SDS

The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale is one of the oldest and most widely used self-report measures of depression. It asks about 20 experiences — emotional, physical and psychological — and how much of the time each one applies.

Half the statements are worded positively (“I feel hopeful about the future”) and half negatively, which helps catch people who agree with everything without reading closely.

Questions: 20
Time: About 5 minutes
Covers: Recent weeks
Score range: 20–80

How it’s scored

Each answer scores from 1 to 4. The positively worded statements are scored in reverse, so a higher number always means more depressive symptoms. The raw total runs from 20 to 80.

Results are sometimes given as the SDS Index instead: the raw total multiplied by 1.25, giving a score from 25 to 100. Both describe the same result, so check which one a source is using before comparing.

SDS score ranges
Score	Severity
20–44	Normal range
45–59	Mild depression
60–69	Moderate depression
70–80	Severe depression

Good to know

It’s a screening tool, not a diagnosis.
Question 19 asks about thoughts that others would be better off if the person were dead. Any answer other than “a little of the time” should be followed up directly.
Several items are physical (sleep, appetite, energy), so physical illness can raise the score.
The severity ranges shown here are widely used, but you’ll find slightly different cut-offs in different sources.

Source