DASS 28
Reading File
Finding Sources
Finding Sources
Finding Sources
The textbook library has only a passing reference to DASS without substantive coverage. I'll answer from knowledge.
DASS-28 — Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (Short Form)
Overview
The DASS-28 is a self-report questionnaire that measures the severity of three negative emotional states: Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. It is a short form of the original DASS-42, developed by Lovibond & Lovibond (1995). The "28" refers to its 42-item origin — the short form retains 14 of the 42 items (7 per subscale), but confusingly is sometimes called DASS-28 because scores are doubled to compare against the 42-item norms.
Note: The short form is officially the DASS-21 (21 items, 7 per subscale). "DASS-28" is sometimes used informally but is not a standard validated name — you may be referring to the DASS-21.
Structure
| Subscale | Items | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Depression | 7 | Dysphoria, hopelessness, devaluation of life, self-deprecation, anhedonia, inertia |
| Anxiety | 7 | Autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects, situational anxiety, subjective fear |
| Stress | 7 | Difficulty relaxing, nervous arousal, irritability, over-reactivity, impatience |
Scoring
-
Each item is rated on a 4-point Likert scale (0–3):
- 0 = Did not apply to me at all
- 1 = Applied to me to some degree / some of the time
- 2 = Applied to me a considerable degree / good part of the time
- 3 = Applied to me very much / most of the time
-
Subscale score = sum of the 7 items × 2 (to convert DASS-21 scores to DASS-42 equivalents)
Severity Bands (DASS-21, scores after ×2)
| Severity | Depression | Anxiety | Stress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 0–9 | 0–7 | 0–14 |
| Mild | 10–13 | 8–9 | 15–18 |
| Moderate | 14–20 | 10–14 | 19–25 |
| Severe | 21–27 | 15–19 | 26–33 |
| Extremely Severe | 28+ | 20+ | 34+ |
Key Properties
- Not diagnostic — measures symptom severity, not DSM/ICD diagnoses
- Discriminant validity — distinguishes depression from anxiety better than many tools (e.g., HADS, BDI), because it includes a separate Stress subscale
- Time frame: Refers to the past week
- Populations: Validated in clinical and community adult samples; versions available for adolescents
- Free to use — publicly available for non-commercial use
Clinical Uses
- Screening and monitoring of depression, anxiety, and stress in primary care and mental health settings
- Research instrument for epidemiological and intervention studies
- Tracking treatment response over time
Comparison with Other Scales
| Feature | DASS-21 | PHQ-9 | GAD-7 | HAM-D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domains | 3 (D/A/S) | Depression | Anxiety | Depression |
| Items | 21 | 9 | 7 | 17 |
| Self-report | Yes | Yes | Yes | Clinician |
| Stress subscale | Yes | No | No | No |
If you meant a specific aspect of DASS-28 — such as its use in a particular clinical population, psychometric properties, or scoring in a specific context — let me know and I can go deeper.
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