Templates / South Oaks Gambling Screen

Practice Management Tips

South Oaks Gambling Screen

Free PDF • 3 pages, print-ready • Clinician-reviewed

Maja Popovska Last updated November 2, 2026 Reviewed by Dr. Vanja Kitanova

---

The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) is a 20-item questionnaire that screens adults for problem gambling and probable pathological gambling, now called gambling disorder. Henry Lesieur and Sheila Blume published it in 1987, and a total of 5 or more flags a probable pathological gambler.

Because it is a screen, a positive result leads to a clinical interview rather than a diagnosis. Practices can also run it through digital intake forms so the score lands in the patient record instead of a paper file. What follows covers scoring, the adolescent version, false positives and the steps after a positive screen.

Template details

Format

Printable PDF, 3 pages

Sections

2 sections

Fields to complete

39 fields

Best for

Practice Management Tips

Key takeaways

The South Oaks Gambling Screen is a 20-item screen for problem gambling, published by Lesieur and Blume in 1987.

Each “at risk” answer scores one point, so totals run from 0 to 20.

A total of 5 or more flags probable pathological gambling, and 1 to 4 flags some problems with gambling.

The screen overestimates pathological gambling in the general population, so confirm every positive result with a clinical interview.

Pabau, the practice software we build, can file the score and your next step in the patient’s record.

What is the South Oaks Gambling Screen?

The South Oaks Gambling Screen is a 20-item questionnaire based on the DSM-III criteria for pathological gambling. Patients can complete it on their own, or a professional or nonprofessional interviewer can ask the questions.

Henry Lesieur and Sheila Blume built it at South Oaks Hospital, a private psychiatric hospital on Long Island, New York. Blume ran the hospital’s adult addiction services, and Lesieur was a research consultant to the South Oaks Foundation.

Their 1987 paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry drew on 1,616 people. The sample covered 867 patients treated for substance abuse or pathological gambling, 213 Gamblers Anonymous members, 384 university students and 152 hospital employees.

Family members and counselors independently validated the results, and the authors reported internal consistency and test-retest reliability. They pitched the screen for clinical populations of people with alcohol or drug problems, and for the general population.

What the 20 scored items cover

The South Oaks Gambling Screen uses 20 scored items. They cover chasing losses, borrowing money to gamble, hiding gambling from family, and the time or money spent on it. Each item asks about a specific behavior rather than a general feeling, which keeps answers concrete.

The form also opens with unscored questions. They cover the types of gambling the patient has tried, the largest amount gambled in one day, and relatives with a gambling problem. Those answers give you context without moving the total.

Items also ask whether people have criticized the patient’s gambling, which often surfaces family strain early. Most items ask whether something has ever happened, so the screen measures lifetime behavior unless your version sets a shorter timeframe.

The American Psychological Association lists the instrument in its PsycTests record. Check the permissions terms there before you reuse the wording outside your practice.

How to score the South Oaks Gambling Screen

The South Oaks Gambling Screen scores one point for each answer that shows risk, and the total falls between 0 and 20. The standard score sheet sets out which answers count.

• Question 4 (chasing losses): One point for going back to win money back most of the times or every time the patient loses.
• Question 5 (claiming wins): One point for “Yes, less than half the time I lost” or “Yes, most of the time.”
• Question 6 (feeling there is a problem): One point for “Yes” or “Yes, in the past but not now.”
• Questions 7 to 11 and 13 to 15: One point for each “Yes.”
• Question 16a to 16i (borrowing sources): One point for each source the patient has borrowed from.
• Not counted: Questions 1 to 3, question 12, and questions 16j and 16k.

Those rules give 20 scored items in total. Add the points, then match the total to the band below.

How to interpret SOGS scores

A South Oaks Gambling Screen total of 5 or more marks a probable pathological gambler. A total of 1 to 4 shows some problems, and 0 shows none. The bands come from the standard score sheet and match the template’s own score sheet.

The cut-off of 5 comes from Lesieur and Blume’s original work. A 2020 PLOS ONE study notes that the threshold was set to keep false positives down, without ROC curve analysis.

The DSM-5 now diagnoses gambling disorder at 4 or more of 9 criteria, down from 5 under the DSM-IV-TR. Treat the band as a prompt for the interview, and record your reading of it next to the number.

Store the total and the answers in the patient record so the next clinician sees the same score.

Reliability, validity and limitations

The South Oaks Gambling Screen performs well in treatment settings but overestimates pathological gambling in the general population. That finding comes from a 2002 study by Stinchfield in Addictive Behaviors.

Stinchfield gave both the SOGS and the DSM-IV criteria to 803 people from the general population and 1,589 people in gambling treatment. Coefficient alpha was .69 in the general population sample and .86 in the treatment sample.

Classification accuracy was good to excellent among people in treatment. In the general population sample, the screen had a 50% false positive rate against the DSM-IV criteria.

The practical lesson is about setting. In a gambling or addiction service, a high score is usually a sound signal. In primary care or a community survey, expect more people to screen positive who would not meet diagnostic criteria. The cut-off shifts with the population as well.

Other limitations follow from the format. Answers depend on what the patient remembers and is willing to admit, and lifetime wording can flag someone whose gambling problem ended years ago.

SOGS versions for adolescents and other settings

The original screen was built for adults. Two adaptations and one study of older adults cover most other settings you’ll meet.

The adolescent version (SOGS-RA)

The South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents was published by Winters, Stinchfield and Fulkerson in 1993. It uses 12 scored items that ask about the past 12 months.

A score of 4 or more marks problem gambling on the SOGS-RA. A 2022 study of adolescent gamblers in Macao tested it against the DSM-5 criteria and also found 4 to be the best cut-off.

The revised version (SOGS-R)

In 1993, Lesieur and Blume published a paper on revising the screen for different cultures and settings. Versions labeled SOGS-R vary in wording and timeframe, so confirm the exact text in the copy you hold.

Pick the version that matches your protocol and the time frame your service needs. Never compare totals across versions without checking that the items match.

Using it with older adults

The South Oaks Gambling Screen also works with older adults, according to the 2020 PLOS ONE study of people aged 50 and over. It compared 47 patients in a gambling outpatient unit with 361 people from the same area.

Against DSM-5 criteria, the screen identified gambling disorder with an area under the curve of 0.97. The best cut-off for gambling disorder in that group was 4, and 2 for problem gambling.

Before you adapt any wording, compare the item text with the NLM Common Data Elements repository, which hosts item data for the instrument. If a patient’s situation differs from the study population, document why you chose the tool.

How to run the screen in practice

Administer the screen as a self-report questionnaire, score it straight away, and file the result with your clinical notes. It suits intake visits in mental health and addiction services, and any visit where gambling, debt or money arguments come up.

Lesieur and Blume designed it for people treated for alcohol or drug problems, so run it alongside substance use screens such as the CAGE-AID questionnaire.

1. Confirm the patient is an adult, and use the SOGS-RA for adolescents.
2. Explain that answers are confidential and that the screen is a starting point, not a diagnosis.
3. Ask every item, using the timeframe your protocol specifies.
4. Score the answers using the rules in the scoring section above.
5. Record the total, your interpretation, and the next step in the patient file.

Clinicians who want faster write-ups can pair the record with AI-powered clinical documentation to draft the note, then check it before signing.

Who should use this screen?

Clinicians in mental health, psychiatry, psychology and therapy practices are the natural users of the South Oaks Gambling Screen. Addiction services and primary care teams use it too.

• Psychiatry and psychology teams assessing patients who raise money or betting concerns
• Therapy and counseling practices that screen during intake
• Primary care physicians who want a structured first check
• Behavioral health services that review gambling harm alongside other risks

Practices running a mental health EMR can keep these screens beside other assessments in one record.

What to do after a positive screen

After a positive South Oaks Gambling Screen, the next step is a clinical interview against the DSM-5 criteria for gambling disorder. The score tells you who needs that conversation, not what the diagnosis is.

• Confirm with an interview: Work through the nine DSM-5 criteria, where 4 or more in the past 12 months supports a diagnosis.
• Check for related conditions: Ask about alcohol and drug use, mood and anxiety, since the screen was first validated in a substance use service.
• Match the response to the band: A score of 1 to 4 may call for brief advice and a rescreen. A score of 5 or more usually calls for specialist referral.
• Share support options: In the US, the National Council on Problem Gambling helpline takes calls and texts at 1-800-MY-RESET.
• Plan the follow-up: Book a review and rescreen with the same version, so the two totals compare cleanly. A relapse prevention plan gives the patient steps to follow between visits.

Documentation tips

Good SOGS documentation lets the next clinician see what was asked, what the patient scored, and what you decided. Record these points every time:

• The version used (SOGS, SOGS-RA or a local revision) and the timeframe it covered
• The date, the person who administered it, and whether it was self-completed or read aloud
• Each item answer, not only the total, so a later review can check the scoring
• The total, the band, and your clinical reading of it
• The outcome of the clinical interview, any referral made, and the follow-up date

Benefits for your practice

A standard screen gives every clinician the same starting point, which makes results easier to compare across patients and over time.

A dated score in the record also shows what you asked and what you did next. That trail supports clinical governance and makes case reviews far easier.

• Consistency: Each clinician asks the same 20 scored items in the same order.
• Referral clarity: The score band guides whether you assess further, intervene briefly, or refer.
• Trend tracking: Repeat screens with the same version show whether gambling harm is easing.

Other gambling screens to consider

Other validated tools include the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), the Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS), and the NODS.

Compare items, cut-offs, and the time each tool requires before you switch. The right choice depends on your setting, appointment length, and the population you see. In a general population setting, weigh the SOGS false positive rate when you choose.

How Pabau keeps gambling screens with the patient record

On paper, a SOGS total often ends up in a scanned file nobody opens before the next appointment. The clinician who sees the patient next then starts the conversation from scratch.

With Pabau’s intake forms and EMR, patients complete the screen before or during the visit. The total, the answers and your next step then sit in the same record as the rest of the visit.

Repeat screens stay in one timeline, so you can see whether a score has dropped since the referral. To see that workflow end to end, book a demo with our team.

Run gambling screens digitally with Pabau

Pabau’s digital forms and patient records keep each SOGS score, answer and follow-up step in one timeline per patient.

Book a demo

Conclusion

The South Oaks Gambling Screen earns its place as a fast, structured first question about gambling. Its weakness is overcalling in low-risk groups, so the score should open a clinical conversation rather than close one.

Use it where gambling harm is likely, score it the same way every time, and confirm each positive result against the DSM-5 criteria. The record you keep matters as much as the total. Book a demo to see how Pabau files every screen and follow-up in the patient record.

Continue your research

Screening for alcohol too? AUDIT alcohol screening test gives you a structured alcohol screen to run alongside the SOGS.

Need a full substance use workup? Drug and alcohol evaluation form structures the assessment that can follow a positive screen.

Assessing impulsivity as well? Impulse control disorder test screens for impulse control problems alongside gambling harm.

Seeing other behavioral addictions? Internet addiction test scores problematic internet use with a structured questionnaire.

Working with more than one addiction? Cross addiction worksheet helps patients spot one compulsive behavior replacing another.

Frequently asked questions