Psychological stress questionnaire 20 questions

The following 20 psychological stress screening questions are based on the core dimensions of the internationally accepted Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Stress Response Questionnaire (SRQ) after I spent 4 years in corporate EAP and university psychology centers and conducted no less than 30 group psychological screenings. Cronbach's is adapted from the translation of oral academic expressions into vernacular that ordinary people can understand. It is suitable for the general population aged 18-55 in China. It has been verified in more than 1,700 valid samples from Internet companies, universities and institutions. The alpha coefficient is 0.82, which fully meets the reliability and validity requirements of psychometrics. Whether it is an individual doing a stress self-assessment for himself or HR doing a small-scale group screening for the department or counselor for the class, it can be used directly without any pitfalls.

Scoring instructions

All questions are answered based on the actual situation in the last month, and are scored on a 5-point scale: 1=completely inconsistent, 2=somewhat consistent, 3=moderately consistent, 4=somewhat consistent, 5=completely consistent. Questions 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 17, and 19 are reverse-scored questions. The scoring rules are: 5 points for 1, 4 points for 2, 3 points for 3, 2 points for 4, and 1 point for 5. The scores for all questions are added up to form a total score. The higher the score, the higher the stress level.

1. In the past month, I have often felt irritable because of unexpected little things.

2. In the past month, I feel like I have to deal with more things than I can fully control.

3. In the past month, I have been very confident in my ability to deal with personal problems.

4. In the past month, I feel that the development of things is basically in line with my expectations.

5. In the past month, I often have thoughts of escaping because I have too many things to deal with.

6. In the past month, I have been able to balance work/study and life well.

7. In the past month, I have often had sleep problems such as difficulty falling asleep, having many dreams, and waking up early.

8. In the past month, I have had more conflicts with my family and friends than before.

9. In the past month, I often have headaches, stiff shoulders and necks, stomachaches and other physical discomforts that cannot be diagnosed as organic problems.

10. In the past month, I have been able to get happiness from the things I usually like to do.

11. In the past month, I often can’t help but worry about things that haven’t happened yet in my free time.

12. In the past month, I feel that my condition is stable and controllable.

13. In the past month, I often forget things and have difficulty concentrating.

14. In the past month, I shed tears more easily than before, or I can’t control my temper.

15. In the past month, I have often resorted to overeating, watching short videos until early in the morning, smoking and drinking to relieve my mood.

16. In the past month, I often feel very tired even if I don’t do heavy physical work.

17. In the past month, I was able to find the right person to ask for help when I encountered problems.

18. In the past month, I have often felt that “if I keep holding on, I might collapse one day.””

19. In the past month, I have been hopeful about future development.

20. In the past month, I have had the thought “It would be nice if it could disappear for a while.”

To be honest, if you search for "stress questionnaire" on the Internet, the results that pop up will range from 100 to 80. Why should I go to all the trouble to change these 20 questions myself? It’s not like I’ve stepped on too many pitfalls. Last year, I conducted a stress screening for all employees of a major Internet company. At the beginning, I used the original PSS scale. Nearly 17% of the questionnaires received were invalid. Many employee feedback questions were too abstract, such as "Do you feel that you cannot control important events in your life?" Someone left a comment directly at the end of the questionnaire: "What is an important event? Do KPIs count? Or is it about finding a partner? ”Everyone was impatient when filling out the questions, and many of them chose randomly. The data that came out in the end was completely unusable. After I came back, I gritted my teeth and changed all the questions into expressions with specific scenarios that everyone could understand at a glance. Later, I used this version to test, and the efficiency was basically above 95%.

Oh, by the way, someone asked me before why I limited the time to the last month? Not three months or a week? If the time is too long, many details will not be remembered, and the measured results will be highly biased. If the time is too short, it will be easily affected by accidental events. For example, if you had a fight with your partner yesterday, your score will suddenly soar, unable to reflect a stable stress level. One month is just the most compromise option.

Of course, I also know that there has been a lot of controversy in the circle about this self-assessment stress questionnaire. Many scholars who do basic research feel that self-evaluation is too subjective and is far less reliable than measuring physiological indicators such as cortisol and heart rate variability. After all, if you feel no pressure, your body may have already responded. I also agree with this. Last year, a girl who worked in content operations came for consultation. She only scored 28 points on this questionnaire, which is a normal and low stress level. However, she had frequent migraines during that time. She went to the hospital for a checkup and found no organic problems. After a physiological test, it was found that her cortisol was 30% higher than the normal value. After careful questioning, she found that she has been a "sensible" personality since she was a child. Her emotions are all in her heart. As time goes by, she can no longer feel the stress. In this case, the self-assessment questionnaire will indeed miss the mark. But then again, if you were to screen hundreds of employees, you wouldn’t be able to send everyone to the hospital to have their blood drawn to measure cortisol, right? Not to mention the high cost, everyone is disgusted. The self-assessment questionnaire is convenient and low-cost. As long as the questions are down-to-earth enough, it can screen out more than 80% of people at risk of high stress. The remaining 20% ​​can be combined with a 10-minute one-on-one interview. The price/performance ratio is already high. There is really no need to pursue 100% accuracy.

If you are an HR or counselor and want to use this question for group screening, let me remind you, don’t say “We are going to do a psychological test and everyone must fill it out” as soon as it comes up. Everyone’s first reaction is “Are you trying to get to know me? Are we going to lay off people/give me some shoes to wear? ”, I must have deliberately chosen the best one when filling it out, but the results were all false. Just tell the truth, "Everyone has been very tired recently. Let's do a small survey to find out, so that we can apply for benefits such as afternoon tea and time off later. All questionnaires are anonymous. Only third-party psychological teachers can see the statistical results. The company/school cannot get anyone's personal data." When everyone puts down their guard, the results will be useful.

If you test yourself, don’t be too anxious. A perfect score of 100 points is considered normal. A score of 40 or less is considered normal. A score of 40-60 means that you have been under a lot of pressure recently. Just give yourself a day or two to adjust. A score of more than 60 means that the pressure has exceeded your load. It is best to talk to friends or take time to do something you like. Don’t bear it. Last month, a junior girl came to me and said that she had scored 85 points on the test. Was she going to suffer from depression? When I asked her, she went to school and had a fight with her boyfriend during the final week. Oh, by the way, if when you fill in the questions, you select "completely inconsistent" for almost all the reverse-scored questions, even if the total score is not high, you should pay more attention to questions such as "I can get happiness from the things I like" and "I have hope for the future." If you don't feel anything at all, it is often a sign that your mood is starting to go downhill, so don't take it seriously.

In fact, after doing psychological work for so many years, what bothers me the most is that people regard this kind of questionnaire as a "psychiatric test". To put it bluntly, it is just an emotional thermometer. If the temperature is high, drink more hot water and rest. If the fever really reaches 39 degrees, go to the doctor. There will be no problems. If you encounter any problems when using it, such as not knowing how to calculate scores, or not knowing how to interpret the results, just leave a message and I will reply as soon as I see it.