Table of Contents
Instructions:
Please read each statement and press a response that indicates how much the statement applied to you over the past week. There are no right or wrong answers. Do not spend too much time on any statement.
| Did not apply to me at all | Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time | Applied to me to a considerable degree, or a good part of time | Applied to me very much, or most of the time | ||
| 1 | I found it hard to wind down | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | I was aware of dryness of my mouth | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | I couldn’t seem to experience any positive feeling at all | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | I experienced breathing difficulty (eg, excessivelyrapid breathing,
breathlessness in the absence of physical exertion) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do things | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | I tended to over-react to situations | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | I experienced trembling (eg, in the hands) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | I felt that I was using a lot of nervous energy | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | I was worried about situations in which I might panic and make a fool of myself | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 | I felt that I had nothing to look forward to | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | I found myself getting agitated | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | I found it difficult to relax | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 | I felt down-hearted and blue | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 14 | I was intolerant of anything that kept me from getting on with what I was doing | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | I felt I was close to panic | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Did not apply to me at all | Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time | Applied to me to a considerable degree, or a good part of time | Applied to me very much, or most of the time | ||
| 17
18 19 20 21 |
I felt I wasn’t worth much as a person | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| I felt that I was rather touchy | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| I was aware of the action of my heart in the absence of physical exertion (eg,sense of heart rate increase, heart missing a beat) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| I felt scared without any good reason | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| I felt that life was meaningless | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Description
The DASS-21 is the short form of the DASS-42, a self-report scale designed to measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. As the three scales of the DASS have been shown to have high internal consistency and to yield meaningful discriminations, the scales should meet the needs of both researchers and clinicians who wish to measure current state or change in state over time (e.g., in the course of treatment). This scale is suitable for clinical and non-clinical settings.
Validity and Reliability
The test was developed using a sample of responses from the comparison of 504 sets of results from a trial by students, taken from a larger sample of 950 first year university student responses. The scores were subsequently checked for validity against outpatient groups including patients suffering from anxiety, depression and other mental disorders. While the test was developed with individuals older than 17 year of age, due to the simplicity of language, there has been no compelling evidence against the use of the scales for comparison against children as young as 12. The DASS-21 has been extensively normed, with data used for interpretive purposes based on a sample of 1794 non-clinical adults (Henrey & Crawford, 2005). Consistent with the DASS-42, the DASS-21 has internal consistency and concurrent validity in acceptable to excellent ranges (Antony et al., 1998).
Interpretation
The DASS is based on a dimensional rather than a categorical conception of psychological disorder. For full interpretive information please purchase the DASS manual at http://www2.psy.unsw.edu.au/groups/dass/order.htm A raw score for the three subscales and the total raw score are given as output. For each of the three subscales percentiles, based on a community sample (n = 1794) are computed. In addition, scores for each subscale are categorised into five severity ranges: normal, mild, moderate, severe and extremely severe. The severity labels are used to describe the full range of scores in the population, so ‘mild’ for example means that the person is above the population mean but probably still below the typical severity of someone seeking help (i.e. it does not mean a mild level of disorder).
Developer
Lovibond, S.H.; Lovibond, P.F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed.). Sydney: Psychology Foundation (Available from The Psychology Foundation, Room 1005 Mathews Building, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia
Number Of Questions
21
References
Antony, M. M., Bieling, P. J., Cox, B. J., Enns, M. W., & Swinson, R. P. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 176.
Henry, J. D., & Crawford, J. R. (2005). The short‐form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS‐21): Construct validity and normative data in a large non‐clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44(2), 227-239.
Lovibond, S.H.; Lovibond, P.F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed.). Sydney: Psychology Foundation (Available from The Psychology Foundation, Room 1005 Mathews Building, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia