ArticlePloS one2025
Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21): Further psychometric exploration using robust item response theory and classical theory measures among university students.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Prevalence of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder among international medical students from conflict zones versus non-conflict areas: a cross-sectional study.The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association · 2026Article
- Assessment of Mental Health in Healthcare Personnel: A Review of DASS, MBI, and Zung Scales.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- When distress meets disability: social connectedness buffers functional impairment in university students.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Caregivers' Baseline Mental Health Problems and Early Childhood Social Skills at One-Year Follow-Up in an Urban Area of Indonesia.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Alcohol Consumption and Depressive Symptoms in Romanian University Students: Post-Pandemic Insights from a Non-Clinical Cohort.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Mapping psychological heterogeneity in military cadets: a multi-method framework combining network analysis, latent profiles, and risk nomograms.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
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8 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPsychometric validity of the 21-item Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) has not been studied among Ethiopians. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the DASS-21 using Item Response Theory (IRT) and classical theory among Ethiopian university students.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 364 Ethiopian university students. Participants completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), and the DASS-21.
resultsFactor analysis and measures of quality of factor estimates, construct stability, and robustness of unidimensionality supported a one-factor structure. Item parameters were satisfactory for all but three items using both CTT and IRT. Some CTT parameters indicated deviation from unidimensionality for three items. Two items had poor communality, and IRT infit/outfit values above 1.4. The findings indicated adequate divergent validity (weak-moderate correlation) for the general distress measure of DASS-21 with respect to HAM-A, excellent reliability (McDonald's ω and Cronbach's α both 0.93), and item-level measurement invariance across sexes.
conclusionThe psychometric validity of the DASS-21 among Ethiopian university students was robust, as shown by analysis using classical and item response theory measures. However, some item-level psychometric characteristics for two items were sub-optimal in both CTT and IRT.
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