RESOURCE HUB · VALIDATED SCALES
Perceived Stress Scale for Children (PSS-C)
A short, child-friendly questionnaire that measures how stressed children feel: whether life feels manageable, or whether worries and pressures are getting on top of them. It adapts the widely used adult Perceived Stress Scale for younger respondents.
Ages 5–18
13 scored items
A few minutes
Higher = more stress
What it measures
The PSS-C measures perceived stress, meaning how stressful a child feels their life is, rather than counting stressful events. Children say how often they have felt a certain way in the last week, covering things like feeling worried or upset, feeling able to handle problems, and feeling things are going well. Answers use a visual frequency scale, so children can show how often something happened without needing strong reading skills.
Who it’s for
The scale was designed for children and young people, with a visual answer format that suits younger pupils. Schools and researchers use it to understand stress across a class or year group, to evaluate wellbeing interventions such as mindfulness or breathing programmes, and to see how events like exams or transition affect pupils. It is a screening and monitoring aid, not a diagnosis, and it is less suited to picking up severe or long-term adversity.
SAMPLE QUESTION
In the last week, how often did you feel worried about things?
Never · A little · Sometimes · A lot
Paraphrased example for illustration. The original wording and visual response format are in the published paper.
How it’s scored
Each answer is given a score based on how often the child felt that way, and the item scores are added together for a total. Higher totals mean higher perceived stress. Some questions are worded positively and are scored in reverse, so check the scoring key that comes with the version you use. There are no official cut-off scores: the PSS-C is best used to compare groups, or the same pupils before and after a change, rather than to label an individual child.
Validation and source
The PSS-C was developed by Barbara Prudhomme White and published in 2014 in the International Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health, following a pilot study with 153 children. It builds on Cohen's adult Perceived Stress Scale (1983), one of the most widely used stress measures in the world. Since then it has been used in more than 20 studies and adapted into other languages. Reported reliability varies between studies (Cronbach's alpha roughly 0.52 to 0.84), and researchers disagree on whether it measures one overall factor or separate factors such as distress and wellbeing. Check the original publication for the exact items and terms of use.
WHERE YOUHQ FITS
Validated scales measure. youHQ helps you act on what they show.
The PSS-C gives you a snapshot of how stressed children feel in a given week. Stress builds and eases quickly, though, around exams, friendships and life at home. youHQ gives pupils a quick daily check-in on how they're feeling, so staff can spot rising stress as it happens instead of waiting for the next survey. Use the PSS-C to measure the bigger picture, and youHQ to know which pupils need support right now.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the PSS and the PSS-C?
The PSS is Sheldon Cohen's adult Perceived Stress Scale, first published in 1983. The PSS-C is a children's version with simpler questions about the last week and a visual answer format, so younger pupils can complete it.
What age is the PSS-C for?
It was designed for children and young people, and its visual format makes it suitable for primary-age pupils. Older teenagers may be better served by the adult PSS, which has been widely used with secondary and university students.
Is there a cut-off score for high stress?
No. The PSS-C has no official cut-offs. Higher scores mean higher perceived stress, and the scale works best for comparing groups or tracking the same pupils over time.