Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, Revised (OCI-R)
An 18-item self-report screen for obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Respondents rate how much they have been distressed or bothered by each experience in the past month on a 0–4 scale. Items form six symptom subscales (Washing, Checking, Ordering, Obsessing, Hoarding, and Neutralizing, three items each) and sum to a total score. Higher totals indicate more obsessive-compulsive symptoms; a screening result is not a diagnosis.
This is a clinical instrument. It is not publicly self-administered; a clinician assigns it through a secure patient link.
You learn how much each kind of obsessive or compulsive symptom affects you, such as checking or ordering.
For anyone troubled by repetitive thoughts or rituals that are hard to stop.
It comes from clinical research that separates the main kinds of obsessive and compulsive symptoms.
What this test is
Welcome. An 18-item self-report screen for obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Respondents rate how much they have been distressed or bothered by each experience in the past month on a 0–4 scale. Items form six symptom subscales (Washing, Checking, Ordering, Obsessing, Hoarding, and Neutralizing, three items each) and sum to a total score. Higher totals indicate more obsessive-compulsive symptoms; a screening result is not a diagnosis.
The measure
The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, Revised (OCI-R) was developed by Foa and colleagues (2002). It has 18 items, each answered on a 5-point (Not at all … Extremely) scale. Its scores cover Washing, Checking, Ordering, Obsessing, Hoarding and Neutralizing.
Foa, E. B., Huppert, J. D., Leiberg, S., Langner, R., Kichic, R., Hajcak, G., & Salkovskis, P. M. (2002). The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory: Development and validation of a short version. Psychological Assessment, 14(4), 485–496.
At a glance
What it measures
Eighteen experiences describe six kinds of obsessive-compulsive symptom: washing (washing or cleaning excessively, feeling contaminated), checking (repeatedly checking doors, windows, appliances), ordering (becoming upset when things are not arranged properly), obsessing (unpleasant thoughts that come to mind against one's will and are hard to get rid of), hoarding (collecting things one does not need, difficulty discarding) and neutralizing (feeling compelled to count, or to repeat certain numbers, to undo bad thoughts). Each is rated by how much it has distressed or bothered the person in the past month.
Foa and colleagues (1998) developed the original Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory to measure the many forms that obsessive-compulsive disorder can take, rather than a single dimension. Foa and colleagues (2002) shortened it to the eighteen-item revised form, with three items for each of the six symptom groups.
The ratings are summed into a total and into six symptom-group scores. Higher totals describe more distress from obsessive-compulsive experiences over the past month, and the group scores show which kinds are most prominent, for example checking rather than washing. The report places the total within published screening ranges. A high score is a reason for a fuller assessment, not a diagnosis.
The inventory is used in clinical services to screen for obsessive-compulsive disorder and to track change during treatment, and in research. On this site, the Obsessive-Compulsive Screen and the Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms scale describe related tendencies in personality-item form, and the Perfectionism and Intrusive Thoughts scale describes a related pattern of high standards and unwanted thoughts.
Subscales
Washing 3 items
Checking 3 items
Ordering 3 items
Obsessing 3 items
Hoarding 3 items
Neutralizing 3 items
Example item
“I have saved up so many things that they get in the way.”
Illustrative only. During administration items are presented one screen-set at a time; response-key direction is never shown to respondents.
Scoring & interpretation
Item responses are summed to a total score and compared against published screening cutoffs.
The report explains which published screening bands your score falls in and what they mean.
References
- Foa, E. B., Huppert, J. D., Leiberg, S., Langner, R., Kichic, R., Hajcak, G., & Salkovskis, P. M. (2002). The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory: Development and validation of a short version. Psychological Assessment, 14(4), 485–496.
Sample report preview
The report opens with a profile of your scores on the 6 scales (Washing, Checking, Ordering, Obsessing, Hoarding, and Neutralizing), drawn on a common scale so the overall shape of the profile is visible at a glance. Each scale then receives a short plain-language explanation of what a higher or lower standing describes. It closes with guidance on reading the results and on the limits of self-report.
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Subscale scores | Your score on each of the 6 subscales. |
| Score bands | Where your score falls among the published bands listed on this page. |
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