Psychometric Properties of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) in a Greek Sample

Christos Pezirkianidis,Eirini Karakasidou,Michael Galanakis,Anastassios Stalikas,Agathi Lakioti

doi:10.4236/psych.2018.915170

Christos Pezirkianidis, Eirini Karakasidou + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2018.915170

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Journal: Psychology	Publication Date: Jan 1, 2018
Citations: 52	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Panteion University

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the DASS-21 in a non-clinical sample of the Greek population. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) is a self-report instrument measuring anxiety, depression and stress. The validation was carried out in a sample of 12,868 Greek adults, ranging from 18 to 65 years old. Results showed that the DASS21 has satisfactory reliability and validity indexes. Moreover, the factorial structure of the scale matches the ones found in previous studies in many countries. The results of this study suggest that the Greek DASS-21 can be used as a reliable and valid instrument for the measurement of depression, anxiety and stress in the Greek population.

Highlights

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) is a self-report instrument measuring anxiety, depression and stress
The results of this study suggest that the Greek Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS)-21 can be used as a reliable and valid instrument for the measurement of depression, anxiety and stress in the Greek population
The results show that each of the three DASS-21 scales demonstrate statistically significant differences across every demographic information, which indicates that men and women, samples with different educational, marital or employment status and different age groups score significantly in a different way in depression, anxiety and stress; the samples’ means are not equal

Summary

Introduction

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) is a self-report instrument measuring anxiety, depression and stress. It is the short form of Lovibond and Lovibond’s (1995) 42-item measure which was developed to encompass the full range of anxiety and depression symptoms while providing maximum differentiation between the two constructs. A new factor consisting of symptoms of nervous tension and irritability emerged. The new factor became the third scale of the instrument, measuring stress. Each of the three DASS-21 scales comprises seven items which were selected.

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