Abstract
Abstract This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales - Short Form in a Brazilian sample. The instrument was answered online by 250 university students. The following models were tested through Confirmatory Factor Analysis: one-dimensional, three oblique factors, hierarchical, and bifactor. The estimated indices showed a better adjustment for a bifactor model composed of three specific factors and one global factor. Additional statistical analysis, such as explained common variance and omega hierarchical estimates, indicated that the measure is predominantly one-dimensional. The results also indicated evidence of convergent validity (Average Extracted Variance between 0.48 and 0.60), internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha between 0.87 and 0.94) and temporal reliability of the instrument (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient between 0.64 and 0.74).
Highlights
O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar as propriedades psicométricas da Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales – Short Form em uma amostra brasileira
In the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) performed for the DASS-21one-dimensional model (Figure 1), the quality of the adjustment to the variance-covariance matrix of the 21 items was poor (Table 1), according to the classification by Hair et al (2018)
In the CFA of the DASS-21three oblique factors models, (Figure 1) and DASS-212nd order (Figure 2), that is, Negative Affectivity (2nd order) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress (1st order), the same indices were found for both (Table 1) and the quality of adjustment to the data was good
Summary
O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar as propriedades psicométricas da Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales – Short Form em uma amostra brasileira. Por meio de Análise Fatorial Confirmatória, foram testados os modelos: unidimensional, com três fatores oblíquos, hierárquico e bifator. It involves physiological (e.g., increased heart rate and rapid breathing), affective (e.g., irritability, fear, and nervousness), cognitive (e.g., fear of losing control and being unable to deal with danger), and behavioral responses (e.g., escaping, seeking for security, and avoiding threatening situations) (Clark & Beck, 2012) It is a normal and adaptive state for the human species, if excessive and persistent, anxiety can bring significant losses to the individual, including reduced quality of life (Clark & Beck, 2012), affected social and occupational functioning (Clark & Beck, 2012), high risk of cardiovascular events, such as stroke and coronary heart disease (Emdin et al, 2016), and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (Bentley et al, 2016). As it causes a state of biochemical imbalance, if it is very intense or long-lasting, stress can trigger adverse consequences for the individual, such as cardiovascular diseases (Cohen, Edmondson, & Kronish, 2015), physical pain (Mascella et al, 2014), memory failures (Lipp, 2015), reduced quality of life (Sarafis et al, 2016), among others
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