Depression Anxiety Stress Scales – Long Form (DASS-42)
A 42-item self-report scale designed to measure the severity of the core symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales – Long Form (DASS-42) was developed by S.H. Lovibond, P.F. Lovibond (1995). It is designed to measure Depression, Anxiety, Stress. The scale is intended for use with Adults and adolescents (aged 12+).
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 42 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Depression, Anxiety, Stress.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Depression | 3,5,10,13,16,17,21,24,26,31,34,37,38,42 | 14 |
| Anxiety | 2,4,7,9,15,19,20,23,25,28,30,36,40,41 | 14 |
| Stress | 1,6,8,11,12,14,18,22,27,29,32,33,35,39 | 14 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 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.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 42. Interpretation guidelines:
- Depression: Normal: 0 – 9
- Depression: Mild: 10 – 13
- Depression: Moderate: 14 – 20
- Depression: Severe: 21 – 27
- Depression: Extremely Severe: 28 – 42
- Anxiety: Normal: 0 – 7
- Anxiety: Mild: 8 – 9
- Anxiety: Moderate: 10 – 14
- Anxiety: Severe: 15 – 19
- Anxiety: Extremely Severe: 20 – 42
- Stress: Normal: 0 – 14
- Stress: Mild: 15 – 18
- Stress: Moderate: 19 – 25
- Stress: Severe: 26 – 33
- Stress: Extremely Severe: 34 – 42
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Depression alpha = 0.91, Anxiety alpha = 0.84, Stress alpha = 0.90.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.