Chapter 4. Is There Too Much Stress in Your Life?

Intro

Is There Too Much Stress in Your Life?

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Before we are stressed by a situation we must judge it to be challenging or even beyond our ability to cope. The questionnaire that follows is called the perceived stress scale. It measures the degree to which you appraise situations in your life as stressful. There are no right or wrong answers.

Check your health

Perceived stress scale (PSS)

The questions in this scale ask you about your feelings and thoughts during the last month. In each case, you will be asked to indicate how often you felt or thought a certain way (0 = Never, 1 = Almost Never, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Fairly Often, and 4 = Very often).

Question 4.1

	Never Almost Never Sometimes Fairly Often Very Often
1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=
2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=
3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and "stressed"?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=
4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your personal problems?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=
5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=
6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the things that you had to do?	779BlnFVjW5TycykvFdOleT+r1V2cclGgU3MIaBLARUmGZ5ykxJUG+vWrRDAcuM4DmLmnCX2uPZM8KvAd7loDw7EY/5Tqf9IY12YYIemGMJW+kORFhvZvKUfUWGCj7i/Df3pBfQTAf54oY24m1KbAN/q72L8dN4E2PHhh+vj+Cwve6rrq07dnCSENQaUi/TfGkpCqd6QJZQUPW0yYdWC9h7xnm6JKvOsrzRposubzqaNj4zs+4GJB1Qg0Rht6BgyQlt54nHoOLo53trIVIcTx2qLqj13qoJ/WwY0kNe8El9NOEDOYRaSoW0jhGFfZ/QsSFSByA==
7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=
8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=
9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that were outside of your control?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=
10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you could not overcome them?	/P4goqwDSstci9HNJPdm2Besb/4VBchRIr1ocVd1mzN7l8YkDWw74/Lqm5frfdsDRrVdjBQDmeD6GEINKvcobTxdYU9y8ho1sUD8TI+TLyubB8gqTh7U/83Yacg18xWaBpCc6MkseOkbqi5CGP6dPhzmeGbX+pQJ4GeA6vm7RpaXXXXHWadyW01Fwo4kyS/qoh5Nu3uxyd2GCKFHxvvQh9W+ztO8yc5LEFT6qKKEuf1CY2GdRUDcGdUtegsl2q2tBvXVteqtKJYsVpRvJK2GRNmnED+5xNAkkh5YwUtjFe0=

{true} setModel("q1", qqMC1 )

{true} setModel("q2", qqMC2 )

{true} setModel("q3", qqMC3 )

{true} setModel("q4", qqMC4)

{true} setModel("q5", qqMC5)

{true} setModel("q6", qqMC6)

{true} setModel("q7", qqMC7)

{true} setModel("q8", qqMC8)

{true} setModel("q9", qqMC9)

{true} setModel("q10", qqMC10)

{true} setModel("total", qqMC1 + qqMC2 + qqMC3 + (4 - qqMC4) + (4 - qqMC5) + qqMC6 + (4 - qqMC7) + (4 - qqMC8) + qqMC9 + qqMC10)

Your Score

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YOUR SCORE:

{model.total}

Your Score, {model.total}, was calculated by reversing responses to the four positively stated items (items 4, 5, 7, and 8) and then summing across all scale items. The higher the score the higher the degree to which stress is perceived.

Interpreting Your Score

The Perceived Stress Scale is not a diagnostic instrument, so there are no cut-offs. You can, however, compare your score to the average scores reported below. This data reflects responses to the 2009 eNation survey which gathered information from approximately 2000 adults, 18 or older, living in the United States.

2009 Perceived Stress Scale mean scores by category of respondent.

Category	Number of respondents	Mean Score	Standard Deviation
Sex
Male	968	15.52	7.44
Female	1032	16.14	7.56
Age
Less than 25	223	16.78	6.86
25-34	433	17.46	7.31
45-54	285	12.6	6.1
35-44	331	16.38	7.04
45-54	419	16.94	7.83
55-64	372	14.5	7.2
65 and older	222	11.09	6.77
Race
White	1704	15.70	7.51
Black	99	15.68	7.51
Hispanic	81	17	7.45
Other	84	17.44	7.67
Education
Less than high school	62	19.11	7.92
High School	404	16.59	7.54
Some college	784	16.00	7.54
Bachelor's Degree	513	15.17	7.22
Advanced Degree	231	14.65	7.14
Employement
Full-time	1037	16.23	7.31
Part-time	167	15.32	7.28
Unemployed	187	16.62	6.97
Retired	282	12.34	7.63
Homemaker	156	15.79	7.33
Other	159	18.99	7.57
Income (2009 $US)
$25,000 or less	313	17.77	7.6
$25,000-$35,000	367	16.69	7.72
$35,001-$50,000	191	16.37	8.27
$50,001-$75,000	418	15.26	7.54
$75,001 or more	711	14.74	6.88

Improve Your Health

If your score is higher than average, you might consider learning new stress reduction techniques. The following activities have been shown to reduce stress:

Deep breathing and visualization
Progressive muscle relaxation
Mindful-based stress reduction
Exercise — try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a week (moderate activity is briskly walking)
Yoga
Socializing with supportive friends
Laughing while reading or watching something; engage in a humorous conversation
Engaging in a humorous conversation
Dancing or listen to music
Engaging in a hobby that you enjoy

Sources

Cohen, S., and Janicki-Deverts, D. (2012) Who’s Stressed? Distributions of Psychological Stress in the United States in Probability Samples from 1983, 2006, and 2009. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42 (6), 1320-1334.

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385–396.

Cohen, S. and Williamson, G. (1988). Perceived stress in a probability sample of the United States. S. Spacapan & S. Oskamp (Eds.). The social psychology of health. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.