Psychometric Comparison of Five DASS Short Forms in Mexican University Students

Five versions of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21, -14, -12, -9, and -8 items) were compared in a single cohort of Mexican university students. The study, authored by Luis Hernando Silva Castillo and last updated in May 2026, used confirmatory factor analyses and validity tests to evaluate the forms for screening emotional distress. The DASS-12 version showed the most favorable balance between brevity and dimensional differentiation.

Use Cases

• Selecting a short-form emotional distress screener based on psychometric performance described in the study.
• Evaluating measurement invariance by sex for the DASS-12, as the study demonstrated scalar invariance.
• Assessing the trade-off between brevity and factor discrimination among depression, anxiety, and stress dimensions.
• Validating a screening instrument's convergent validity with coping strategies, as performed in the study.

Strengths

• Directly compares five specific DASS versions (21, 14, 12, 9, and 8 items) within a single cohort.
• Includes multiple validation analyses: factor structure, reliability, convergent validity with coping, and criterion-related validity.
• Results identify a specific recommended version (DASS-12) for the target population.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 38.5 KB DOCX file, suggesting limited raw data or that the primary content is a research article.
• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment for direct analysis.
• The data reflects a specific population (Mexican university students), which may limit generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Luis Hernando Silva Castillo via figshare.

Collection Method

Psychometric study using confirmatory factor analyses and validity tests on a cohort of university students.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-01 04:18:27.

Geography

Mexico