Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen & Williamson, 1988)

This 10-item scale is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure the degree to which individuals perceive situations in their lives as stressful and asks participants to rate how often they have experienced each statement in the past month on a 5-point Likert-type scale from 0 (Never) to 4 (Often). For example, How often have you been upset because of something that happened unexpectedly? Total scores were calculated by adding up the scores for each item, and ranged from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress. Consistent with previous research (AlAteeq et al., 2021; Alharbi & Alshehry, 2019; Toto & Limone, 2021; Wiriyakijja et al., 2020), a total score between 0 and 13 was considered to be low stress, 14 to 26, considered to be moderate stress, and scores 27 and above indicated high perceived stress. The psychometric properties of the three versions of the PSS (PSS-14, PSS-10, and PSS-4) have been examined in various populations (e.g. general population, adults, college/postgraduate students, psychiatry patients, women, adults, etc.). In a review evaluating the psychometric properties of the PSS-10, the Cronbach’s alpha was > 0.70 in 12 studies, and test–retest reliability met the criterion of > 0.70 in four studies (Lee, 2012). Internal consistency for the PSS-10 was acceptable in the present sample (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.62).