%0 Journal Article
%@ 2291-5222
%I JMIR Publications
%V 7
%N 8
%P e13418
%T The Validity of Daily Self-Assessed Perceived Stress Measured Using Smartphones in Healthy Individuals: Cohort Study
%A Þórarinsdóttir,Helga
%A Faurholt-Jepsen,Maria
%A Ullum,Henrik
%A Frost,Mads
%A Bardram,Jakob E
%A Kessing,Lars Vedel
%+ The Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark, 45 91104943, helgath90@gmail.com
%K emotional stress
%K smartphone
%K ecological momentary assessment
%K mobile phone
%K self-report
%K healthy individuals
%D 2019
%7 19.08.2019
%9 Original Paper
%J JMIR Mhealth Uhealth
%G English
%X Background: Smartphones may offer a new and easy tool to assess stress, but the validity has never been investigated. Objective: This study aimed to investigate (1) the validity of smartphone-based self-assessed stress compared with Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and (2) whether smartphone-based self-assessed stress correlates with neuroticism (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Neuroticism, EPQ-N), psychosocial functioning (Functioning Assessment Short Test, FAST), and prior stressful life events (Kendler Questionnaire for Stressful Life Events, SLE). Methods: A cohort of 40 healthy blood donors with no history of personal or first-generation family history of psychiatric illness and who used an Android smartphone were instructed to self-assess their stress level daily (on a scale from 0 to 2; beta values reflect this scale) for 4 months. At baseline, participants were assessed with the FAST rater-blinded and filled out the EPQ, the PSS, and the SLE. The PSS assessment was repeated after 4 months. Results: In linear mixed-effect regression and linear regression models, there were statistically significant positive correlations between self-assessed stress and the PSS (beta=.0167; 95% CI 0.0070-0.0026; P=.001), the EPQ-N (beta=.0174; 95% CI 0.0023-0.0325; P=.02), and the FAST (beta=.0329; 95% CI 0.0036-0.0622; P=.03). No correlation was found between smartphone-based self-assessed stress and the SLE. Conclusions: Daily smartphone-based self-assessed stress seems to be a valid measure of perceived stress. Our study contains a modest sample of 40 healthy participants and adds knowledge to a new but growing field of research. Smartphone-based self-assessed stress is a promising tool for measuring stress in real time in future studies of stress and stress-related behavior. 
%M 31429413
%R 10.2196/13418
%U http://mhealth.jmir.org/2019/8/e13418/
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/13418
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31429413