Validation of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale–DASS-21 in a community sample of Portuguese pregnant women

Abstract

IntroductionThe Depressive Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Antony et al., 1998) had been widely used to measure psychological distress among clinical and non-clinical populations, including in Portugal (Pais-Ribeiro et al., 2004). Although DASS-21 has been considered useful to evaluate psychological distress in the perinatal period, studies reporting on its psychometrics are scarce (Brunton et al., 2015).ObjectiveTo investigate the psychometric properties of the DASS-21 in a Portuguese sample of pregnant women.MethodsFour hundred and twenty-seven pregnant women (mean age: 32.56 ± 4.785 years) in their second trimester of pregnancy (17.34 ± 4.790 weeks of gestation) completed the Portuguese versions of DASS-21 and of Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS-24; Pereira et al., 2013).ResultsThe DASS-21 Cronbach's alpha was “very good” (a = 0.92). Following the Kaiser and the Cattel Scree Plot criteria, two factorial structures were explored. Three factors structure (explained variance/EV = 57.18%): F1-stress (included 8 items; α = 0.89); F2-Anxiety (7 items; α = 0.79); F3-Depression (6 items; α = 0.82). In the two factors structure (EV = 50.96), the Stress and Anxiety items load in the same factor (F1: 15 items; α = 0.91) and the F2 is composed of the Depression items (F2: 6 items; α = 0.82). Pearson correlations between DASS-21 total and dimensional scores and the PDSS-24 scores were all significant, positive and moderate to high (@.50).ConclusionsThe Portuguese version of DASS-21 has good reliability, construct and concurrent validity when used with pregnant women. Its factorial structure significantly overlaps with the original, with only one item loading in another factor. DASS-21 could be very useful in diverse settings in the perinatal period.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Perception and Feelings of Antenatal Women during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…DASS-21 was shown to be reliable and valid for use during the perinatal period for such a screening. [24][25]…”

Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Dental Undergraduate Students: Prevalence, Stressors and Relieving Factors

“…The first section concentrates on the basic information on students, such as gender, current year of study, years spent in the course, marital status, parents' educational level and income status, and general personality type. The second section comprised of the shorter form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), which has been validated as screening tool by many researchers in a variety of socio-demographic conditions [18][19][20] and in Bahasa Malaysia (BM). 21 Respondents were asked to rate 21 items based on how applicable the statements were to them over a past week.…”

Effects of Aromatherapy Using the Damask Rose Essential Oil on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Hemodialysis Patients: A Clinical Trial

“…The long version contains 42 items, where each mental factor or construct is measured by 14 items. The validity and reliability of this tool have been proven in different studies including Iranian studies (30)(31)(32)(33). In Iran, this questionnaire was examined by Samani and Joukar, who reported the test-retest validity for the depression, anxiety, and stress scales as 0.80, 0.76, and 0.77, respectively, and Cronbach's alpha for the depression, anxiety, and stress scales as 0.81, 0.74, and 0.78, respectively (34).…”