What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to determine the factor structure of the DASS-21 among adolescents in four different countries.

July 25, 2014

Factorial Invariance of the DASS-21 Among Adolescents in Four Countries

DMDavid MellorAnimal Welfare Institute EVEugenia V. VinetUniversidad de La Frontera XXXiaoyan XuTaylor's University

Key Points

This study aims to determine the factor structure of the DASS-21 among adolescents in four different countries.
Assessments conducted using the DASS-21 in high schools across Australia, Chile, China, and Malaysia with a total sample size of 1,735 adolescents.
Utilized multigroup confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the structural invariance of the DASS-21 across these diverse populations.
The three-factor structure of the DASS-21 was confirmed to be consistent across all four countries with strong support for structural invariance.
Findings suggest that the DASS-21 is a suitable measure for assessing depression, anxiety, and stress in adolescents from different cultural backgrounds.

Abstract

The use of scales to measure constructs in populations or contexts other than that in which they were established is highly controversial. Despite this, the use of scales without reference to “local” psychometric data is still widespread. In this study we examined the factor structure of the short 21-item form of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21), when it was applied to adolescent samples recruited from high schools in Australia (N = 371), Chile (N = 448), China (N = 558), and Malaysia (N = 388). Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the purported three-factor structure of the DASS-21 was supported in each location with structural invariance across locations. While convergent and divergent validity studies are required to support this finding, the DASS-21 appears to be suitable for use with adolescents in these locations.

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