Psychometric properties of the Self-perceived Stress in Retirement Scale

A 14-item self-report scale, Self-perceived Stress in Retirement Scale, was developed from retirees' lists of factors which caused them stress in everyday living, and then administered to 348 men and 385 women who had been retired from between six months to over five years. Analysis indicated that the scale showed satisfactory internal consistency, was sensitive to a range of scores representing participants' stress, correlated significantly with standardised measures of anxiety and depression, and showed a structure with three factors of missing work, personal health, and relationship issues. Suggestions for the use of the scale in further research are discussed.