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Assessing Stress 69
10 High distress
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8
7
6
5
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2
1
0 No distress
Figure 3.4 Stress thermometer
allows clinicians to assess a patient’s psychological appraisal
of stress, whereas a measurement of increased heart rate or
blood pressure would show a physiological outcome of stress.
Accurate assessments of this nature allow us to determine the
impact of interventions on psychological stress and anxiety in
such situations. An overview of some of the more popular
psychological measures of stress is presented here.
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen 1983 )
The PSS was developed to measure patients perceptions of
how stressful particular situations in their left were, with high
scores indicating higher perceived stress. Rather than being
focused on the number of stressful events patient’s experience,
the PSS placed emphasis on the patient’s appraisal of the
