Perceived Stress Scale

PSS-10

psychologyhealth sciencessocial sciencesFree for research use

A 10-item self-report instrument measuring the degree to which situations in one's life over the past month are appraised as stressful, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.

Items

Response format

5-point frequency scale

Version

1.0

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Perceived stress was assessed using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), with four positively-worded items reverse-scored. Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress (α = .78 in the original validation sample).

Reliability & validation

notes

Reported alpha in original Cohen et al. (1983) sample; later psychometric studies commonly report α in the .74–.91 range.

Validation population

Community adults

Cronbach's α

0.78

Response anchors

Never · Almost never · Sometimes · Fairly often · Very often

Known limitations

The PSS measures subjective stress appraisal, not exposure to stressors. Reading level (US high-school) may limit use with younger or lower-literacy samples. Not a diagnostic screener.

Original citation

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385-396.

https://doi.org/10.2307/2136404

Questions researchers ask

What does the PSS-10 measure?

A 10-item self-report instrument measuring the degree to which situations in one's life over the past month are appraised as stressful, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.

How many items does the PSS-10 have?

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) has 10 items.

Is the PSS-10 free to use?

The PSS-10 is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.

Is the PSS-10 reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.78. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the PSS-10, and how do I cite it?

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385-396. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136404

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Library entry verified January 2024. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.