Perceived Stress Scale
What It Measures
The Perceived Stress Scale asks how often, over the past month, life has felt unpredictable, uncontrollable, and like too much. It measures appraisal rather than events — two people can face the same month and experience it entirely differently, and it is the experience that predicts health outcomes.
Ten questions cover both sides of that appraisal. Some ask about feeling upset, nervous, or unable to cope. Four ask the opposite — feeling confident about handling problems, feeling things are going your way — and are reverse-scored. Each is rated from never to very often, giving a total from 0 to 40, where higher means more perceived stress.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: Free for non-profit academic research and educational purposes; commercial use requires permission from the author. Available in a wide range of translations.
Learn More: Predictive validity falls off after about four to eight weeks, since perceived stress shifts with circumstances — so a score is a snapshot, not a stable trait.
