Perceived stress (pooled across unnamed instruments)

Method

Standardised mean difference for self-reported perceived stress pooled across trials in which the source instruments were not held constant and are not individually named in the pooled estimate.

The method is part of the endpoint identity. Studies measuring the same quantity by a different method are held as separate endpoints.

Notes

Kept separate from the Perceived Stress Scale node deliberately. PMID 40746175 measured the named PSS specifically and found NO effect, while these instrument-agnostic pools report enormous effects (SMD -1.75 to -5.88); collapsing the two would let unvalidated instruments launder an effect the validated one does not show, and would raise the grade of the weaker evidence rather than lower it. Also distinct from anxiety symptom severity -- stress and anxiety are separately validated constructs whose instruments correlate but do not substitute.