DASS-21 Depression Anxiety Stress Scales
DepressionAnxietyStressComprehensive Assessment
21 items Questions
Usually 5-8 minutes
Introduction
The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) is a self-report scale designed to measure the three related negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. The scale consists of 21 items, with 7 items for each dimension. DASS-21 effectively differentiates between depression, anxiety, and stress, and is widely used in clinical and research settings.
Test Instructions
Please read each statement and select the option that indicates how much the statement applied to you over the past week. Each question has four choices: 0=Did not apply to me at all, 1=Applied to me to some degree, 2=Applied to me to a considerable degree, 3=Applied to me very much.
Scoring Method
- Subscale scoring: Depression, Anxiety, Stress each have 7 items, 0-3 points each
- Subscale scores are multiplied by 2 for comparison with DASS-42
- Depression subscale: Normal 0-9, Mild 10-13, Moderate 14-20, Severe 21-27, Extremely severe 28+
- Anxiety subscale: Normal 0-7, Mild 8-9, Moderate 10-14, Severe 15-19, Extremely severe 20+
- Stress subscale: Normal 0-14, Mild 15-18, Moderate 19-25, Severe 26-33, Extremely severe 34+
Dimension Explanation
- Depression：Low mood, hopelessness, meaninglessness, self-deprecation, lack of interest or involvement, anhedonia, inertia
- Anxiety：Autonomic arousal, muscle tension, situational anxiety and subjective experience of anxious affect
- Stress：Persistent state of overarousal, irritability, over-reactivity, impatience, difficulty relaxing, nervousness, easily agitated
Notes
- This scale is suitable for assessing emotional states in adults
- If any dimension scores high, professional psychological help is recommended
- This scale is for screening purposes only and cannot replace professional diagnosis