Mental Health

Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)

10-item validated stress scale measuring how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded you find your life.

The Perceived Stress Scale is a ten-item questionnaire developed by Cohen and colleagues. Rather than counting stressful events, it asks how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded your life has felt over the last month. It is a general measure of perceived stress for adults and does not screen for any specific disorder.

1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
2. In the last month, how often have you felt unable to control the important things in your life? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and stressed? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle personal problems? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things you had to do? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
8. In the last month, how often have you felt on top of things? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things outside your control? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)
10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them? (Never, Almost Never, Sometimes, Fairly Often, Very Often)