APES

Adolescent Perceived Events Scale (APES)

General Description:

The Adolescent Perceived Events Scale (APES) is a self-report measure of stressful events that commonly affect adolescents. As outlined in Compas et al. (1987), originally there were three separate versions of the scale for young (junior high school age), middle (high school age), and older (beginning college) adolescents; however, we recommend using the short form of the APES that is currently used for all ages of adolescents (10 through 18-years-old; see Grant & Compas, 1995). The short form consists of 90 stressful events, ranging from major life events (e.g., death of a relative) to daily events (e.g., household chores) that characterize several domains of functioning. For each item, the adolescent indicates whether or not they have experienced the stressful event in the past 6-months. If so, then the adolescent rates their perceived desirability of that event on a 9-point scale (-4 = extremely bad, 0 = neither good or bad, +4 = extremely good). The APES can be scored in a variety of ways, including calculating total weighted scores for both negative and positive events or generating separate scores for major and daily events. One limitation of the current form of the APES is that it biased toward stressors experienced by white, middle to low SES, rural and suburban populations. We expect that a number of important stressors confronted by adolescents in other environments, particularly from various minority groups and in urban environments, are not included.

Languages Available:

• English
• Spanish

Download the Adolescent Perceived Events Scale by clicking the below

• APES (English) download
• APES (Spanish) download

Questions and Request Form for the Adolescent Perceived Events Scale

If you have questions about the APES or have a request for the APES, please email stressandcopinglab@vanderbilt.edu.

Key References:

• Compas, B.E., Davis, G.E., Forsythe, C.J., & Wagner, B.M. (1987). Assessment of major and daily stressful events during adolescence: The adolescent perceived events scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55(4), 534-541.
• Compas, B.E., Howell, D.C., Ledoux, N., Phares, V., & Williams, R.A. (1989). Parent and child stress and symptoms: An integrative analysis. Developmental Psychology, 25(4), 550-559.
• Compas, B.E., Howell, D.C., Phares, V., Williams, R.A., & Giunta, C.T. (1989). Risk factors for emotional/behavioral problems in young adolescents: A prospective analysis of adolescent and parental stress and symptoms. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57(6), 732-740.
• Grant, K.E. & Compas, B.E. (1995). Stress and anxious-depressed symptoms among adolescents: Searching for mechanisms of risk. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63(6), 1015-1021.
• Wagner, B.M., Compas, B.E., & Howell, D.C. (1988). Daily and major life events: A test of an integrative model of psychosocial stress. American Journal of Community Psychology, 16(2), 189-205.
• Wagner, B.M. & Compas, B.E. (1990). Gender, instrumentality, and expressivity: Moderators of the relation between stress and psychological symptoms during adolescence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(3), 383-406.