Calculators / Depression and mood
DASS-21
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, 21 items. Self-report depression, anxiety and stress, scored separately.
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The DASS-21 calculator is in the Library.
Every rating scale calculator comes with the Library, along with the prescribing guides, medication handouts, DSM-5 criteria and sheets, and the Guide Builder.
Use it for
- Measuring the level of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms across the past week in adults.
- Tracking change in all three areas with one short form.
- Research and clinics that want three dimensional scores and not a diagnosis.
Do not use it for
- Diagnosing depression, an anxiety disorder or any other condition. The severity labels are descriptive.
- Measuring worry in generalized anxiety disorder. The anxiety subscale weighs bodily arousal and situational fear. The GAD-7 is built around worry.
- Assessing suicide risk. The scale has no suicide item.
Ask the person to read each statement and choose the number that shows how much it applied to them over the past week. There are no right or wrong answers, and they should not spend long on any statement.
DASS-21
Answer the questions to see the result.
This calculator adds up the score in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
More about the DASS-21
About the DASS-21What it is and what it is for
The DASS-21 is the short form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, written by Lovibond and Lovibond at the University of New South Wales. Twenty-one statements, seven for each subscale, ask how much each one applied to the person over the past week, from 0 (did not apply at all) to 3 (applied very much, or most of the time).
It reports three scores and not a single total. The depression subscale covers low mood, loss of interest and a sense of worthlessness. The anxiety subscale covers physical arousal and fear. The stress subscale covers tension, irritability and difficulty relaxing.
How to use itGiving it and scoring it
Score each answer from 0 to 3. Add the seven depression items, the seven anxiety items and the seven stress items separately, then double each sum. The items are mixed together on the form, so use the lists on this page. This page does the addition.
Compare each doubled score with the table of labels. Do not add the three scores together.
Interpreting the scoreScore ranges and what they suggest
Each subscale is the sum of its seven items, doubled so the scores match the longer 42-item version. The labels below apply to the doubled scores. Each subscale is labeled on its own.
| Label | Depression | Anxiety | Stress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 0 to 9 | 0 to 7 | 0 to 14 |
| Mild | 10 to 13 | 8 to 9 | 15 to 18 |
| Moderate | 14 to 20 | 10 to 14 | 19 to 25 |
| Severe | 21 to 27 | 15 to 19 | 26 to 33 |
| Extremely severe | 28 or more | 20 or more | 34 or more |
The labels describe how a score compares with the general population and are not diagnoses. They come from the DASS manual.
Pearls and pitfallsTips and common mistakes
- Always read the three scores separately. A person can be normal on two and severe on one.
- Doubling the 21-item sums is what makes the labels apply. Without it, a score of 7 on the depression items is 14, which is moderate.
- Item 21 (life was meaningless) is the closest item to suicidal thinking. Ask about suicide directly when it is rated 2 or 3.
- Pair it with a scale built for the problem you suspect. The PHQ-9 for depression and the GAD-7 for generalized anxiety give clearer answers on those questions.
- Use the past-week time frame the scale was built around. Do not change it to two weeks or a month.
EvidenceAccuracy and reliability
- Lovibond and Lovibond (1995) developed the DASS in clinical and community samples. The 21-item form is a short version with seven items per subscale.
- Antony and colleagues (1998) found good internal consistency and the expected three-factor structure for the 21-item form in clinical groups and a community sample.
- Henry and Crawford (2005) published population norms and construct validity for the DASS-21 in a large non-clinical sample.
- The strong correlation between the three subscales is well documented, and some analyses favor treating the scale as a measure of general distress plus specific factors.
Source, license and referencesWhere it comes from
The DASS was developed by Peter Lovibond and Sydney Lovibond at the University of New South Wales. The DASS website states that the DASS questionnaire is in the public domain. The manual with the scoring tables is sold separately. The severity labels on this page follow the manual.
- Lovibond SH, Lovibond PF. Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. 2nd ed. Sydney: Psychology Foundation; 1995.
- Lovibond PF, Lovibond SH. The structure of negative emotional states: comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behav Res Ther. 1995;33(3):335-343.
- Antony MM, Bieling PJ, Cox BJ, Enns MW, Swinson RP. Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychol Assess. 1998;10(2):176-181.
- Henry JD, Crawford JR. The short-form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21): construct validity and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. Br J Clin Psychol. 2005;44(2):227-239.