Perceived Stress Scale

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a 10-item questionnaire designed to evaluate self-reported stress levels by assessing thoughts and feelings related to stress experienced over the past month. The PSS-10 measures the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful, unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloading.

A high score on the Perceived Stress Scale indicates higher levels of perceived stress. Scores ranging from 27 to 40 are considered high perceived stress, while scores from 14 to 26 are regarded as moderate stress, and scores from 0 to 13 are considered low stress. Higher scores are associated with physical illness, less sleep, unhealthy behaviors, and other negative outcomes.

To score the Perceived Stress Scale, the responses to the 10 items are summed, with positively stated items (items 4, 5, 7, and 8) reverse scored. The potential total scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived stress. The scoring is based on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (fairly often).