Perceived stress (PSS-10)
How overwhelming or hard to manage life feels. Answer the app’s questionnaire and see your result right away.
Source · Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983;24(4):385–396. CareOps English translation of its existing Korean questionnaire. Wording, response choices and descriptive score ranges follow the CareOps version and have not been independently validated in English. The displayed score ranges are CareOps descriptive guides, not diagnostic cutoffs.
How to read your PSS-10 stress score
The Perceived Stress Scale was published by Cohen and colleagues in 1983, and the 10-item version comes from Cohen and Williamson's 1988 work. Rather than counting stressful events, it asks how often life felt unpredictable, out of control or overwhelming during the past month. Items cover being upset by unexpected events, feeling unable to cope, and the opposite experience of things going your way. This page uses an English translation of the CareOps version, which has not been independently validated in English.
Reading your results
The result screen shows 0–13 as lower stress, 14–26 as moderate and 27–40 as higher stress. Four items are positively worded and reverse-scored, so look at which statements you marked as frequent: it can show whether the strain comes more from overload or from lower confidence in coping. A score summarizes a month of feelings but does not explain what caused them. If you stay in the higher range for weeks, or sleep, eating and relationships are affected, it is worth talking it through with someone.
A question to reflect on
Pick the most overwhelming day of the past month. Split what happened into two columns: what you could influence and what you could not. From the first column, choose one very small action to try this week.
Frequently asked questions
- How many questions are in Perceived stress (PSS-10), and how long does it take?
- There are 10 questions, and it usually takes about 2 minutes. For each question you choose one of 5 answers, from “Never” to “Very often”. There are no right or wrong answers.
- How is the PSS-10 different from the PSS-4?
- The PSS-4 uses four items taken from the PSS-10. It is quicker, while the PSS-10 gives more detail on both feeling overloaded and feeling able to cope.
- Nothing big happened lately, but my score is high. Why?
- The scale asks how stressed you felt, not how big the events were. Many small demands or too little recovery time can add up. Notice the moments when you felt you could not keep up.
- How often should I retake it?
- The questions refer to the past month, so about a month between checks makes comparison easier. You can also try it before and after a demanding period such as exams or a deadline.
- Do I need to sign in? Are my answers saved?
- You can see your results right away without signing in. Your answers are used only for scoring and are not stored on our servers.
- Can I bring these results into a counseling session?
- Use the analysis button at the bottom of the result screen to have a short conversation with Maeumi without signing in. After the conversation, you can continue in the app. The web conversation does not transfer automatically to the app.
- Can I share my results with a friend?
- Yes. Use Share at the top right of the result screen to send a friend the check itself, or share your result as a link or story image. A result link carries your scores inside the address only; it does not include your name or account, and nothing is saved on our side.