Work

The use of the shortened versions of the perceived stress scale in the obstetric population: assessing agreement and reliability

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Objectives To assess the reliability of the 10-item and 4-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10 and PSS-4) in the obstetric population, compared with the original 14-item scale (PSS-14).Methods Data were drawn from two Brazilian multicenter studies: a prospective cohort of pregnant women at 27–29 weeks and a cross-sectional study of postpartum women. Central tendency measures and centiles were compared across versions for overall, pregnant, and postpartum groups. Analyses included concordance, internal consistency, correlation, and reliability.Results A total of 1,034 women completed the PSS-14. Median scores differed significantly across versions (PSS-10: 47.5; PSS-4: 43.7; PSS-14: 46.4; p < 0.001). Both shortened versions correlated strongly with PSS-14 (PSS-10: r = 0.958; PSS-4: r = 0.814), but agreement was poor (mean difference PSS-14 vs. PSS-10: -0.366 [−8.56 to 7.83], p < 0.001; vs. PSS-4: 5.700 [−14.43 to 25.83], p < 0.001). Reliability was acceptable for PSS-10 (Cronbach’s α = 0.704) but low for PSS-4 (α = 0.516).Conclusion In the obstetric population, PSS-10 may overestimate and PSS-4 underestimate stress levels compared to PSS-14. Further studies are needed to refine the psychometric properties of shorter versions and clarify the clinical implications of score differences.Synopsis Our findings indicate that the current shortened versions of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10 and PSS-4) might not be a suitable alternative to the original version (PSS-14) in the obstetric population.

Source: Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology

DOI: 10.1080/0167482x.2025.2606355