The Stress Symptoms Checklist (SSCL) is a 38 item self-report test designed specifically to assess anxiety-related and stress symptoms, including symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder associated with chronic pain

Developed by Bruce N. Eimer, Ph.D. (author of Pain Management Psychotherapy: A Practical Guide, 1998, John Wiley & Sons) and Lyle Allen III, M.A., of CogniSyst, Inc., the SSCL can be ordered and administered separately or as part of the Pain Assessment Battery

Patients rate the frequency with which they have experienced each of the 38 symptoms during the past two weeks on a seven point scale ranging from one (never) to seven (always). Several scores are derived to include:

	Post Traumatic Anxiety Symptoms (PTAS)
	Pain and Impairment (PI)
	SSCL Total Sum of Ratings
	Total Symptom Percentage
	Several Measures of Rating Extremity (used as measures of validity or symptom magnification)

The SSCL is an instrument well-suited for the assessment of stress and anxiety as it relates to chronic pain. It is appropriate for clinic or hospital-based evaluation, basic and applied research programs, epidemiological studies, and other situations requiring a brief and valid tool for assessing this important dimension.