Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21
DASS-21A 21-item short form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, with three 7-item subscales measuring depression, anxiety, and stress over the past week.
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Reliability & validation
Subscales
Response anchors
Did not apply to me at all · Applied to me to some degree / some of the time · Applied to a considerable degree / a good part of the time · Applied to me very much / most of the time
Known limitations
The 21-item short form yields less stable subscale scores than the 42-item original; the anxiety and stress subscales correlate, reflecting shared negative affectivity.
Original citation
Lovibond, P. F., Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335-343.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-UQuestions researchers ask
What does the DASS-21 measure?
A 21-item short form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, with three 7-item subscales measuring depression, anxiety, and stress over the past week.
How many items does the DASS-21 have?
The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) has 21 items across 3 subscales: Depression, Anxiety, Stress.
Is the DASS-21 free to use?
The DASS-21 is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.
Is the DASS-21 reliable?
Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.82–0.9. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.
Who developed the DASS-21, and how do I cite it?
Lovibond, P. F., Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U
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Library entry verified July 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.