Psychometric properties of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale–21 (DASS-21) across nine countries/regions
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Examinations of the internal structure of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) have yielded inconsistent conclusions within and across cultural contexts. This study examined the dimensionality and reliability of the DASS-21 across three theoretically plausible factor structures (i.e., unidimensional, oblique three-factor, and bifactor) as well as measurement equivalence/invariance of the DASS-21 using two different approaches (i.e., multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and the alignment approach) with a large, diverse sample of 2,920 young adult college student participants from nine countries/regions (i.e., Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Taiwan, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, and the United States). Results showed an excellent fit of the bifactor model in all countries/regions except the UAE and the US in which the model did not converge. Regarding parameter equivalence, we found configural, threshold, and loading invariance for the oblique three-factor model (across the nine studied countries/regions) and for the bifactor model (across seven countries/regions). Results indicate that DASS-21 scores measure a general psychological distress factor with more validity and reliability than depression, anxiety, or stress constructs independently. Findings supported the bifactor structure of DASS-21 and demonstrated that cross-cultural comparisons using this scale should be conducted using proper procedures, such as the alignment approach.
Source: International Journal of Testing
Institutions: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Iowa State University, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Amasya Üniversitesi, University of Minnesota, Black Dog Institute, Washington State University, Durham University, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Zayed University, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig University, National Taiwan Normal University, Vilnius University
Language: English
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4409275293