Psychometric examination of the Russian version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scales-21

Abstract

The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) is one of the most common instruments for assessing psychological distress [2]. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Russian DASS-21. The participants were 1,153 Russian-speaking adults aged 18 to 84 years. In addition to the Russian DASS-21, the participants completed the Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). A series of confirmatory factor analyses showed the bifactor structure of the Russian DASS-21, full invariance by gender and partial invariance by age. The Russian DASS-21 scores were negatively correlated with the SF-36 scores and positively associated with the SCL-90-R scores, suggesting the convergent validity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.90, 0.85 and 0.91 for the depression, anxiety, and stress subscales, and 0.95 for the general psychological distress score, indicating the internal reliability. Thus, the Russian DASS-21 is a valid and reliable instrument and can be used for screening and monitoring psychological distress in Russian-speaking respondents.