Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)
Self-reported stress appraisal over the past month, not a count of stressful events.
Questionnaire The format describes how observations are obtained, not an evidence rating.
What it measures
How unpredictable, uncontrollable or overloaded life has felt.
What people do
The ten-item form asks how often respondents felt or thought a certain way during the past month, rated on a 5-point frequency scale from 0 (Never) to 4 (Very often). It is distinct from the original 14-item PSS and the four-item version.
What the scores mean
Reverse-score the four positively stated items (0 to 4 recoded as 4 to 0) and sum all ten items for a 0 to 40 total score. Scores summarize subjective stress appraisal; they do not measure cortisol or count external life events.
This explains the logic of a score. It does not supply a test form, individual result or administration manual.
Development and versions
Sheldon Cohen, Tom Kamarck and Robin Mermelstein published the original 14-item measure in 1983, and Sheldon Cohen and Gail Williamson introduced the 10-item revision (PSS-10) in 1988. This profile describes the PSS-10 form.
Evidence: (Carnegie Mellon University, n.d.-b); (Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein (1983): A Global Measure of Perceived Stress, n.d.); (Carnegie Mellon University, n.d.-a); (Spielman et al., 2020)
Reliability and validity evidence
The original 1983 repository abstract reports evidence from students and a smoking-cessation sample for the 14-item scale. Those coefficients cannot simply be reassigned to PSS-10, which was evaluated in Cohen and Williamson’s 1988 probability-sample chapter; this profile does not claim a new version-specific validation audit.
Evidence belongs to a version, sample and interpretation. Read the source notes for what was actually inspected.
Evidence: (Carnegie Mellon University, n.d.-b); (Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein (1983): A Global Measure of Perceived Stress, n.d.); (Carnegie Mellon University, n.d.-a); (Spielman et al., 2020)
Where it is used
Comparing perceived stress in a defined research population or following reports across time with consistent instructions.
Limits and common misreadings
- Changing the recall period changes what is measured.
- A score cannot identify the cause of stress.
- Symptom or physiological measures are related but different observations.
Read an example
Original teaching example
In a fictional course study, two students face the same examination schedule but appraise its demands differently. Their event count is equal; their perceived stress need not be. The example reports no actual PSS scores.
Constructed for learning; this is not a result from the instrument’s validation study.
Access and permission
The laboratory now directs permission requests to ePROVIDE/MAPI Research Trust. Check the applicable terms before use.
Textbook connection
Related contextPsychology 2e: 14.1 What Is Stress?
Conceptual context; the instrument-specific sources in this profile provide the primary evidence.
Related measures
Read a measure critically · Explore score examples · Review research methods
Sources and inspection notes
Checked October 22, 2026. An inspection date is not a publication date. Publisher information is not presented as independent validation; abstract-only and indexed-excerpt access are identified below.
- Carnegie Mellon University. (n.d.-a). Carnegie mellon: Cohen scales and permission requests. https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/psychology/stress-immunity-disease-lab/scales/index.htmlDeveloper laboratory: permission notice
Current notice routes PSS permission requests through ePROVIDE/MAPI Research Trust. A downloadable form alone is not a blanket license.
- Carnegie Mellon University. (n.d.-b). Carnegie mellon: Perceived stress scale, 10-item form. https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/psychology/stress-immunity-disease-lab/scales/html/pss.htmlDeveloper laboratory: indexed form excerpt
The 10-item form, last-month reference period, 0-to-4 response format and four reverse-scored items were inspected. Items are not reproduced.
- Cohen, kamarck & mermelstein (1983): A global measure of perceived stress. (n.d.). https://kilthub.cmu.edu/articles/journal_contribution/A_Global_Measure_of_Perceived_Stress/6613130Author institution repository: abstract
The original article concerns the 14-item PSS. Its results are not presented as coefficients for the later 10-item version introduced by Cohen and Williamson (1988).
- Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/14-1-what-is-stressTextbook: conceptual context
Conceptual context; the instrument-specific sources in this profile provide the primary evidence.