Estudo das propriedades psicométricas da Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) na população portuguesa

Objective: To study the psychometric properties of the ten item Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), in non-patient and patient samples of the Portuguese population. Sample: Five samples of healthy persons (n = 762), and five samples of patients with physical chronic disease or anxiety disorder (n = 201). Measurements: Social-demographic data, smoking habits, Beck Depression Inventory ® (BDI®), PSS-10, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory® (STAI®-Y2), and Smoking Abstinence Self-Efficacy (SASE-12). Results: Using a principal component analysis, it was extracted one factor, that explained 47,4% of the variance. The Cronbach alpha was 0,874, and meaningful differences in stress perception were found between several population strata. There are moderate correlations between PSS-10, the BDI®, and the STAI®-Y2, and absence of association with SASE-12. Scores above percentile 80 are pathological. Conclusions: PSS-10 reveals good psychometric properties. Administration and scoring is simple, and it is a valid assessment of stress, in physical disease or psychopathological contexts.