3-item brief measure of perceived social support. ≈ 1 min to complete. Free with attribution.
OSSS-3 (Oslo Social Support Scale-3) is a validated clinical instrument used to assess 3-item brief measure of perceived social support.. It is most often used for 3-item brief measure of perceived social support.. The instrument contains 3 items. Typical administration time is ≈ 1 min.
Source / attribution: Free to use with citation
3-item brief measure of perceived social support. OSSS-3 is part of standard practice in this setting because it provides a structured, replicable assessment that can be tracked over time and compared across patients or visits.
Like all screening or assessment instruments, OSSS-3 is a structured aid — not a diagnostic test in isolation. Results should be interpreted alongside history, examination, and clinical context. Where a score crosses an actionable threshold, the next step is typically a more detailed clinical evaluation rather than a definitive diagnosis.
Answer all 3 items below to see your OSSS-3 score and interpretation.
Each item is scored on a 4-point scale (1–4). Your score updates live as you answer.
All scoring runs in your browser. No data is sent anywhere — close the tab and the answers are gone.
Sum all 3 items with specific scoring. Total range 3-14. Score 3-8 = poor, 9-11 = moderate, 12-14 = strong.
Scoring notes: Sum all 3 items with specific scoring. Total range 3-14. Score 3-8 = poor, 9-11 = moderate, 12-14 = strong.
The cutoffs below are drawn from the published validation literature. Always interpret in clinical context.
| Score range | Band | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 3–8 | Poor support | Social support intervention |
| 9–11 | Moderate support | Monitor |
| 12–14 | Strong support | Maintain |
This is an illustrative walkthrough, not a real patient. Follow the same four steps with your own answers — or use the live calculator at the top of this page.
Read each question and choose the response that best fits. Each response has a number next to it — that number is the item's score. The example below uses illustrative answers.
| # | Item | Example response | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How many people are so close to you that you can count on them if you have great personal problems? | 3-5 | 3 |
| 2 | How much interest and concern do people show in what you do? | Uncertain | 3 |
| 3 | How easy can you get practical help from neighbours if you should need it? | Easy | 4 |
Add up all the item scores you noted in Step 1.
3 + 3 + 4 = 10
Find the row in the interpretation table whose range contains your total:
Total = 10 falls between 9 and 11 → Moderate support
Moderate support. Monitor
A score is one input alongside history and examination. OSSS-3 supports clinical judgment — it does not replace it.
Psychometric figures are drawn from the validation literature and may vary across clinical populations and translations.
If OSSS-3 doesn't fit your context, related instruments in social support include:
| Scale | Measures | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSPSS | 12-item measure assessing perceived social support from family, friends, and significant other. | 12 | ≈ 3 min |
| UCLA-LS | 20-item measure of subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation. | 20 | ≈ 5 min |
| UCLA-LS-3 | Ultra-brief 3-item version of UCLA Loneliness Scale for large surveys. | 3 | ≈ 1 min |
| PHQ-9 | Severity of depression | 9 | ≈ 3 minutes |
| GAD-7 | Severity of generalized anxiety | 7 | ≈ 2 minutes |
| AUDIT | 10-item WHO screening tool for hazardous alcohol consumption and dependence. | 10 | ≈ 3 min |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | Annual stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation | 8 | — |
| Glasgow Coma Scale | Level of consciousness after head injury | 3 | — |
OSSS-3 (Oslo Social Support Scale-3) is a validated instrument that assesses perceived social support. It is designed for clinicians, medical students, evidence-synthesis researchers. It takes about 1 min to complete, and the 3 items are summed to produce a total score.
OSSS-3 typically takes about 1 min to administer. The exact duration varies a little depending on whether it is self-administered or completed with a clinician. Its brief format is part of what makes it practical for routine clinical use and for repeat administration when tracking change over time.
OSSS-3 contains 3 items. Item scores are summed to produce the total. Scores run from 3 to 14, grouped into 3 interpretation bands from ‘Poor support’ up to ‘Strong support’.
On the OSSS-3 (total score 3–14), scores of 12–14 fall in the ‘Strong support’ band — interpreted as: Maintain. The full ladder is: 3–8 — Poor support: Social support intervention.; 9–11 — Moderate support: Monitor.; 12–14 — Strong support: Maintain. A higher score reflects a more severe presentation, and crossing a cutoff is a prompt to step up assessment or care — but these bands are screening thresholds, not diagnoses.
Scores of 3–8 fall in the ‘Poor support’ band: Social support intervention. A low score is reassuring but does not by itself rule out the underlying condition — if symptoms or clinical suspicion persist, reassess over time or use a complementary evaluation rather than relying on the number alone.
OSSS-3 has reported Cronbach's α of 0.85 in validation samples and test–retest reliability of 0.8. Widely used in epidemiological studies. In practical terms, a Cronbach’s α around 0.85 indicates good internal consistency (the items hang together well), and a test–retest reliability of 0.8 means scores are strongly stable when the scale is repeated without real clinical change.
OSSS-3 is free to use with attribution — clinical, educational, and research use is permitted provided the original source is credited. If you publish results or reproduce the scale, include the citation to the source paper.
Kocalevent, R. D., Berg, L., Beutel, M. E., Hinz, A., Zenger, M., Härter, M., Nater, U., & Brähler, E. (2018). Social support in the general population: standardization of the Oslo social support scale (OSSS-3). BMC Psychology, 6(1), 31. This is the original publication for the OSSS-3 — the reference to cite when reporting results.
No. OSSS-3 is a structured assessment aid, not a diagnostic test. Its proper role is clinical assessment of perceived social support — it standardizes assessment and flags who needs closer evaluation, but the result must be weighed alongside history, examination, and clinical context. When a score conflicts with your clinical impression, clinical judgment takes precedence; treatment decisions should never rest on a screening score alone.
OSSS-3 is supported by the following peer-reviewed sources: