General distress, wellbeing and treatment outcomes
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (21 items)
Score interpretation for Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (21 items)
Reference information · Official-form reference
- Last content update
- 2026-10-26
- Clinical review
- Not independently reviewed
- Source jurisdiction
- See individual sources
- Coverage
- Official-form reference
| Field | Instrument context |
|---|---|
| Version | DASS-21; three separate symptom dimensions |
| Population | Ages 14 and older with sufficient comprehension; restricted enrolled patients or research participants. |
| Respondent | self |
| Recall period | Past week |
| Purpose | Score interpretation for Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (21 items) |
Licensed clinician questionnaire
Complete the exact instrument items using your licence-specific clinician access. Sign-in alone does not grant access. Administration is for the enrolled population covered by your licence.
Administration
Use the official form in an administration arrangement that meets the developer’s conditions. Preserve the original instructions and item keys.
Scoring method
Depression, anxiety and stress each have their own item set. Multiply each seven-item subscale sum by two before comparing with DASS-42 bands. There is no single diagnostic grand total.
Interpretation & limitations
- Higher domain scores indicate greater dimensional symptoms. No diagnosis is produced. DASS-21 domain sums are multiplied by 2 for comparison with the full DASS. Severity labels are not available in this edition.
- The three dimensions describe symptoms over the past week and do not establish three categorical diagnoses.
- Public online administration has specific restrictions; use the developer’s original materials and guidance.
- Do not apply the doubled DASS-21 bands to undoubled scores. The public website does not administer or score these restricted online forms.
References · 1
- Primary scoring / instrument reference · Developer identifies questionnaires/scoring key as public domain. Preserve the official scales; do not sell the scales themselves. Website/app administration only for a defined enrolled group and results to clinician/researcher, not respondent (FAQ 9, 21, 22).