Process / pipelineOccupational health

Perceived Stress Scale

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), developed by Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein in 1983, is the most widely used measure of subjective stress in research and clinical practice. Available in 10-item (PSS-10) and 14-item (PSS-14) versions, the PSS assesses the degree to which individuals perceive situations as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overwhelming. The scale captures stress as a result of how people interpret and react to life events rather than the events themselves.

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Sources

  1. Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385-396. DOI: 10.2307/2136404
  2. Cohen, S., & Williamson, G. (1994). Perceived stress in a probability sample of the United States. In S. Spacapan & S. Oskamp (Eds.), The social psychology of health: Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology (pp. 31-67). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. ISBN: 978-0803951746

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Referenced by

ScholarGatePerceived Stress Scale (Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/organizational-behavior/perceived-stress-scale