Description

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) is a widely used psychometric instrument developed by Cohen and colleagues in 1983 to assess the degree to which individuals perceive their lives as stressful. The scale evaluates the frequency of stressful experiences and the perceived inability to control or manage situations during the previous month.

The PSS-14 does not measure specific stressful events themselves but focuses on the individual’s subjective perception and appraisal of stress.

Objective

The main objective of the PSS-14 is to assess perceived stress levels in individuals by recording how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded they consider their lives to be.

The scale is used in psychological and health research, particularly for studying stress in the general population and occupational groups, including employees. It contributes to the investigation of the relationship between perceived stress and psychological or physical health outcomes.

Structure and Content

The PSS-14 consists of 14 items referring to feelings and thoughts experienced during the previous month.

The questionnaire evaluates:

perceived stress,

sense of control over life circumstances,

coping ability,

and emotional responses to stressful situations.

Seven items are positively worded and represent effective coping or perceived control, while seven items are negatively worded and reflect stress and lack of control.

Scoring Method

Each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale:

0 = Never

1 = Almost never

2 = Sometimes

3 = Fairly often

4 = Very often

For the seven positively worded items, scoring is reversed (4 to 0), while the remaining items are scored normally (0 to 4).

The total score is calculated by summing all item responses and ranges from 0 to 56. Higher scores indicate higher levels of perceived stress.

Data Analysis and Use

The PSS-14 can be analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and comparative statistical methods.

The scale is commonly used to examine relationships between perceived stress and variables such as:

psychological well-being,

anxiety and depression symptoms,

occupational stress,

quality of life,

health behaviours,

and coping strategies.

It is frequently applied in psychological, occupational health, and medical research.

Validity and Reliability

The Greek version of the PSS-14 has been validated and used in research studies in Greece. Katsarou et al. (2004) reported satisfactory internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of α = 0.84, indicating good reliability.

References

International Literature

Katsarou, A., Panagiotakos, D., Zafeiropoulou, A., Vryonis, M., Skoularigis, I., Tryposkiadis, F., & Papageorgiou, C. (2012). Validation of a Greek version of PSS-14; a global measure of perceived stress. Central European Journal of Public Health, 20(2), 104–109.

Shi, C., Guo, Y., Ma, H., & Zhang, M. (2019). Psychometric validation of the 14-item perceived stress scale in Chinese medical residents. Current Psychology, 38(6), 1428–1434.

Greek Literature

Batzios, C. (2021). Investigation of occupational stress and job satisfaction among employees in Local Government Organizations of the First Degree during the COVID-19 pandemic.