title: The German version of the Perceived Stress Scale - psychometric characteristics in a representative German community sample.
abstract: The Perceived Stress Scale Cohen (J Health Soc Behav 24:385-96, 1983) is a widely and well-established self-report scale measuring perceived stress. However, the German version of the PSS-10 has not yet been validated. Thus, the purposes of this representative study were to psychometrically evaluate the PSS-10, and to provide norm values for the German population.
  
  
  
  The PSS-10 and standardized scales of depression, anxiety, fatigue, procrastination and life satisfaction were administered to a representative, randomly selected German community sample consisting of 1315 females and 1148 male participants in the age range from 14 to 90 years.
  
  
  
  The results demonstrated a good internal consistency and construct validity. Perceived stress was consistently associated with depression, anxiety, fatigue, procrastination and reduced life satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a bi-dimensional structure with two related latent factors. Regarding demographic variables, women reported a higher level of stress than men. Perceived stress decreased with higher education, income and employment status. Older and married participants felt less stressed than younger and unmarried participants.
  
  
  
  The PSS-10 is a reliable, valid and economic instrument for assessing perceived stress. As psychological stress is associated with an increased risk of diseases, identifying subpopulations with higher levels of stress is essential. Due to the dependency of the perceived stress level on demographic variables, particularly age and sex, differentiated norm values are needed, which are provided in this paper.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany. eva.klein@unimedizin-mainz.de.
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Elmar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brähler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dreier
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication, University of Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 12, 55099, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reinecke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Kai W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schmutzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wölfling
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Manfred E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Beutel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: PSS; Psychometric properties; Stress