The Poverty-Related Stress Scale: Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure Assessing Poverty-Related Stressors

Table 12

The final iteration of the Poverty-Related Stress Scale.

Item #	Item	Never	Sometimes	Often	Always
Noise disturbance items
PRSS 1	I had difficulty sleeping or doing other important things due to noise disturbances inside my home (e.g., crying infants and loud family members).	1	2	3	4
PRSS 2	I had difficulty sleeping or doing other important things due to noise disturbances outside my home (e.g., loud neighbors, construction, neighborhood violence, public transportation, and car alarms).	1	2	3	4
PRSS 3	I was reluctant to go home or return home because the noise in my house was uncomfortably loud.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 4	I felt the need to get up and leave when it became noisy in my house.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 5	I have felt stressed, irritable, or fatigued by the noise in my home.	1	2	3	4
Home dysfunction items
PRSS 6	Maintenance workers have condemned or threatened to condemn my home due to structural problems, poor maintenance, or other physical hazards associated with the building itself.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 7	My family and I have been threatened with eviction.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 8	I avoid people living in my home as much as possible.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 9	I have not felt as close to a family member or family friend because they are in jail.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 10	I had to take advantage of available garbage bins, charities, soup kitchens, or free events in order to eat.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 11	I have been forced to stay in a homeless shelter, church, other public place, or another person’s home.	1	2	3	4
Financial distress items
PRSS 12	I had to let go of some hopes and dreams to meet my most basic needs (shelter, food, clothing, etc.)	1	2	3	4
PRSS 13	I have worried about how difficult it would be to move if I had to move suddenly.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 14	Financial stress has negatively impacted my family’s relationship.	1	2	3	4
PRSS 15	I had to sacrifice or make tough decisions because of a lack of money.	1	2	3	4