What Does The Perceived Stress Scale Measure?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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What does the Perceived Stress Scale measure? The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen, Kamarch, & Mermelstein,1983) is a popular tool for measuring

psychological stress

. It is a self-reported questionnaire that was designed to measure the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful.

What is the Perceived Stress Scale used for?

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a classic stress assessment instrument. The tool, while originally developed in 1983, remains a popular choice for

helping us understand how different situations affect our feelings and our perceived stress

.

What does the PSS scale measure?

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is the most widely used psychological instrument for measuring

the perception of stress

. It is a measure of the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful. Items were designed to tap how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded respondents find their lives.

What is meant by perceived stress?

Definition. Perceived stress is

the feelings or thoughts that an individual has about how much stress they are under at a given point in time or over a given time period

.

What type of scale is the Perceived Stress Scale?

The Perceived Stress Scale is

a 14 item measure of the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful with responses rated on a 5-point Likert scale

(0 =never to 4 =very often). There are two shorter versions, one consisting of 10 items and another of 4 items (for telephone interviews).

What does PSS-10 measure?

The PSS-10 is a self-reported scale to measure

the global level of perceived stress

(Cohen, 1988).

Is the PSS valid and reliable?


Internal consistency reliability of the PSS-10 total and subscale scores was good in both language groups

. Convergent validity was supported by expected relationships of PSS-10 scores to measures of anxiety and depression. These results support the use of the PSS-10 among Hispanic Americans.

How do you calculate Perceived Stress Scale?

  1. Never (+4)
  2. Almost never (+3)
  3. Sometimes (+2)
  4. Fairly often (+1)
  5. Very often (0)

What is the reliability of Perceived Stress Scale?

Reliability Analysis.

The average inter-item correlations (coefficient alpha values) for the negative subscale were 0.79 for both PSS-14 and PSS-10

(Table 2). For the positive subscales were 0.77 and 0.69 respectively.

How is mental stress measured?

Stress responses can be measured with

self-report measures, behavioral coding, or via physiological measurements

. These responses include emotions, cognitions, behaviors, and physiological responses instigated by the stressful stimuli.

What is an example of a perceived stress?

Here are some examples of the questions: “In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?” “In the last month, how often have you felt on top of things?” “In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things you had to do?”

Who made the Perceived Stress Scale?

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) developed by

Cohen, Kamarck and Mermelstein

[10] is a well-established self-report measure based on the psychological conceptualization of stress. The scale assesses “the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful” (p.

How many items does Perceived Stress Scale have?

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) is a

10-item

questionnaire originally developed by Cohen et al. (1983) widely used to assess stress levels in young people and adults aged 12 and above.

What is a PSS report?

The Perceived Stress Scale is

a 10-item self report questionnaire that measures persons’ evaluation of the stressfulness of the situations in the past month of their lives

.

How is the PSS 10 scored?

PSS-10 scores are obtained by

reversing the scores on the four positive items

, e.g., 0=4, 1=3, 2=2, etc. and then summing across all 10 items. Items 4,5, 7, and 8 are the positively stated items. PSS-4 scores are obtained by reverse coding items # 2 and 3.

What is the Perceived Stress Scale 4?

For example, a score of 0=4, 1=3, 2=2, 3=1, and 4=0. The higher the score, the more perceived stress. Psychometric Properties: PSS-4 is

based on psychometric principles and is considered to be sound

. However, the limited four-item abridged scale suffers in internal reliability (r=.

What is the Cronbach alpha for Perceived Stress Scale?

Cronbach’s alpha is a measure of internal consistency reliability, with a value

>. 70

considered a minimum measure of internal consistency (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). Cronbach’s alpha of the PSS-14 was >. 70 in 11 of the 12 studies in which this version was evaluated, and was not evaluated in the 12th study.

Can anyone use the Perceived Stress Scale?

Profit related use of the Perceived Stress Scale

requires the permission of both the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the author (S. Cohen)

. The author (S. Cohen) will grant you permission to use the PSS in printed questionnaire form, for a one-time fee of (USD) $200.

Is PSS validated?

For the most part,

the PSS has been validated in samples experiencing stressful environments

(i.e. patients, students, policemen) rather than in general populations [14].

What is the 10 item Perceived Stress Scale?

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen, Kamarch, & Mermelstein,1983) is a popular tool for measuring psychological stress. It is a self-reported questionnaire that was designed to measure the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful.

How is anxiety level measured?

The most common measure used to assess anxiety in treatment outcome studies is the

Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A)

,

7 8

which is a primary measure for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and is often used to assess general anxiety symptoms across conditions.

What are the units of stress?

Stress is the measure of an external force acting over the cross sectional area of an object. Stress has units of force per area:

N/m

2

(SI) or lb/in

2

(US)

. The SI units are commonly referred to as Pascals, abbreviated Pa.

What affects perceived stress?

The degree of stress experienced and the ways in which a person reacts to it can be influenced by a various number of factors such as

personal characteristics, lifestyle, social support, and appraisal of the stressor(s), life events, and sociodemographic and occupational variables

. ].

What is the difference between stress and perceived stress?

All of these are based in reality. If you have too much work to do, and you can’t keep on top of your tasks, what you feel is actual stress. Perceived stress is different.

It’s more about your feelings about the lack of control and unpredictability than the actual stressors

.

Do I need permission to use Perceived Stress Scale?

PERMISSION FOR USE BY STUDENTS AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS:

If you are a student, a teacher, or are otherwise using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) without making a profit on its use, you have my permission to use the PSS in your work

. Note that this is the only approval letter you will get.

How do you measure stress in an experiment?

Stress responses can be measured with

self-report measures, behavioral coding, or via physiological measurements

. These responses include emotions, cognitions, behaviors, and physiological responses instigated by the stressful stimuli.

Who designed the Perceived Stress Scale?

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) developed by

Cohen, Kamarck and Mermelstein

[10] is a well-established self-report measure based on the psychological conceptualization of stress. The scale assesses “the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful” (p.

Emily Lee
Author
Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.