PEBL Hub — IRB Fact Sheet — 2026-08-23

Short Stress State Questionnaire (SSSQ)

Category:Personality & Rating Scales

Duration:~5 minutes

Parameters:No configurable parameters - standard 24-item questionnaire

Version:1.0

Input:Mouse, Touch

Description

A 24-item self-report questionnaire measuring transient stress states during task performance

The Short Stress State Questionnaire (SSSQ) is a brief self-report instrument designed to assess transient stress states experienced during or immediately after task performance. Participants rate 24 statements on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 'Not at all' (0) to 'Extremely' (4). The SSSQ assesses multiple dimensions of task-induced stress: - **Distress**: Negative emotional states (dissatisfaction, depression, sadness, anger, irritation) - **Task Engagement**: Motivation, commitment, and alertness during the task - **Worry**: Self-focused attention and concerns about performance - **Self-Focused Attention**: Reflection about oneself and social evaluation concerns Each item is presented individually on screen, and both ratings and response times are recorded. This implementation follows the original SSSQ format but presents items sequentially rather than as a paper questionnaire.

Device requirements: Desktop, tablet, or mobile device with mouse/touch input

Key Parameters

do_intro	Show introductory instruction screen (default: 1)
do_outro	Show completion screen at end (default: 1)

Scoring & Interpretation

The SSSQ yields scores on multiple subscales:

Distress (items 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10): Sum of negative emotion items. Higher scores indicate greater distress.

Task Engagement (items 2, 5, 11, 12, 13, 17, 21, 22): Sum of motivation and alertness items. Higher scores indicate greater engagement. Note: Some items may need reverse scoring (consult original validation studies).

Worry (items 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24): Sum of self-focused attention and performance concern items. Higher scores indicate greater worry.

Consult the original Helton & Warm (2008) and Matthews et al. (2002) references for detailed scoring procedures and subscale definitions.

Human factors research
Vigilance and sustained attention studies
Workload assessment
Task-induced stress measurement
Pre/post task stress evaluation
Cognitive ergonomics research
Performance prediction studies

Validation

Well-validated instrument with established psychometric properties. Widely used in human factors and engineering psychology research.

Example Data Output (1 sample rows)

subnum	timestamp	q1	q2	q3	q4	q5	q6	q7	q8	q9	q10	q11	q12	q13	q14	q15	q16	q17	q18	q19	q20	q21	q22	q23	q24	t1	t2	t3	t4	t5	t6	t7	t8	t9	t10	t11	t12	t13	t14	t15	t16	t17	t18	t19	t20	t21	t22	t23	t24
21525	Sat Nov 1 16:48:32 2025	2	3	4	5	4	3	2	1	1	4	5	3	1	2	3	4	5	3	3	1	2	4	5	5	1413	425	377	381	262	255	199	184	247	391	207	222	229	445	204	198	226	370	202	302	343	245	200	300

References

Helton, W. S., & Warm, J. S. (2008). The Short Stress State Questionnaire. In D. de Waard, F. O. Flemisch, B. Lorenz, H. Oberheid, & K. A. Brookhuis (Eds.), Human Factors for Assistance and Automation (pp. 5-14). Maastricht, the Netherlands: Shaker Publishing.

Matthews, G., Campbell, S. E., Falconer, S., Joyner, L. A., Huggins, J., Gilliland, K., Grier, R., & Warm, J. S. (2002). Fundamental dimensions of subjective state in performance settings: Task engagement, distress, and worry. Emotion, 2(4), 315-340.