Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)
How much stress have you felt lately?
How stressed have you been lately? The PSS-10 measures how much stress you feel in your daily life. 10 items, about 3 minutes.
How stressed have you felt lately?
Stress gets thrown around so much it is easy to lose track of what it actually means. It is not about how many things you have to do — it is about how much of it feels outside your control.
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) measures exactly that. Cohen and colleagues originally designed it in 1983, and it has been a standard way to quantify perceived stress in research ever since.
The 10 items ask about your thoughts and feelings over the last month — how often have you felt confident handling problems? How often have things gone your way? How often have you felt overwhelmed? Each item uses a 5-point frequency scale.
The PSS-10 does not diagnose stress disorders — it measures how much stress you are perceiving, which often matters more than how many stressors you actually have.
Scoring Guide
10-item self-report measure of perceived stress over the past month. Items 4, 5, 7, and 8 are reverse-scored. Sum all items for total score (range 10-50). Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress. No clinical cutoff, but scores above 20 suggest moderate stress levels. Widely used in health psychology research.Result Interpretation
After completing the 10 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.