Dass-243 ❲Premium❳

Purpose and Structure

The DASS-21 is a self-report questionnaire consisting of 21 items, divided into three subscales:

  1. Depression (7 items): Assesses the state of depression, including dysphoria, hopelessness, and devaluation of life.
  2. Anxiety (7 items): Measures the experience of anxiety, including subjective experience of anxious affect and physical symptoms.
  3. Stress (7 items): Evaluates the level of stress, including difficulty relaxing, nervous arousal, and being easily upset.

Considerations

  • Self-report bias: As with any self-report measure, responses can be influenced by personal biases and the current state of the respondent.
  • Comprehensive assessment: The DASS-21 should be used as part of a comprehensive assessment, including clinical interviews and other measures, to accurately diagnose and treat mental health conditions.

Structure and Items

  • DASS-42: 42 statements (14 depression, 14 anxiety, 14 stress) rated for severity/frequency over the past week.
  • DASS-21: 21 statements (7 per subscale) rated on same response format.
  • Response scale (0–3):
    • 0 = Did not apply to me at all
    • 1 = Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time
    • 2 = Applied to me to a considerable degree, or a good part of time
    • 3 = Applied to me very much, or most of the time
  • Example items:
    • Depression: “I couldn’t seem to experience any positive feeling at all.”
    • Anxiety: “I felt I was close to panic.”
    • Stress: “I found it hard to wind down.”

Scoring

  • DASS-42:
    • Sum items for each subscale (range 0–42).
  • DASS-21:
    • Sum items for each subscale (range 0–21) then multiply each subscale score by 2 to be comparable to DASS-42 (range 0–42).
  • Severity ranges (DASS-42 metric; approximate):
    • Depression: Normal 0–9, Mild 10–13, Moderate 14–20, Severe 21–27, Extremely severe 28+
    • Anxiety: Normal 0–7, Mild 8–9, Moderate 10–14, Severe 15–19, Extremely severe 20+
    • Stress: Normal 0–14, Mild 15–18, Moderate 19–25, Severe 26–33, Extremely severe 34+
  • Interpretation: Higher scores = greater symptom severity; examine subscales separately (not summed together for a total clinical diagnosis).

Limitations

  • Self-report biases (social desirability, insight).
  • Overlap between anxiety and stress items can complicate interpretation.
  • Not a diagnostic tool — high scores require clinical evaluation.
  • Severity cutoffs can vary slightly across studies and populations; use local norms when available.