Stress, Anxiety, and Somatoform Symptoms Survey

The survey took place in hospital wards, public services and universities in four Greek cities (Athens, Thessaloniki, Ioannina, and Rhodes) between October 2009 and April 2010, following a convenient sampling approach. Selected hospitals included Asclepeion Hospital—Voula, Athens; General Hospital of Attica “KAT”; General Hospital of Athens “G. Gennimatas”; Papanikolaou General Hospital—Thessaloniki; Ioannina “Chatzikostas” Hospital and Ioannina University Hospital; and Rhodes General Hospital. Educational institutes included Technological Educational Institute of Athens, the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Athens, ASPETE (Technical & Vocational Teacher Training) Institute; Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Public services included two Fiscal Services (Financial or Tax Offices) in Athens and one in Thessaloniki and one office of Public Power Corporation in Thessaloniki. In the day of the visit all students sitting at various meeting points (like students clubs, libraries hall) and all employees and visitors at the specific public services and in outpatients clinics of the selected hospitals were asked to participate. Anonymous questionnaires were handed over along with a cover letter explaining the purpose of the study, the researchers’ affiliation and contact information, and clearly stating that the answers would be confidentially treated. Finally, 941 responders (55% response rate) completed the questionnaires comprising of PSS-14, a 21-item translated version of Depression Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS-21) [26 (link)] and a symptom check list, which included various stress, anxiety or somatoform-related symptoms [27 ]. Additional questions on basic demographic data such as age, gender, family, occupational and employment status were also included based on their well-known influence on the perception of stressful experiences.