Reliability, convergent validity and factor structure of the DASS-21 in a sample of Vietnamese adolescents

Minh Thi Hong Le, Thach Duc Tran, Sara Holton, Huong Thanh Nguyen, Rory Wolfe, Jane Fisher, Minh Thi Hong Le, Thach Duc Tran, Sara Holton, Huong Thanh Nguyen, Rory Wolfe, Jane Fisher

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the internal consistency, latent structure and convergent validity of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) among adolescents in Vietnam.

Method: An anonymous, self-completed questionnaire was conducted among 1,745 high school students in Hanoi, Vietnam between October, 2013 and January, 2014. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess the latent structure of the DASS-21. Factorial invariance between girls and boys was examined. Cronbach alphas and correlation coefficients between DASS-21 factor scores and the domain scores of the Duke Health Profile Adolescent Vietnamese validated version (ADHP-V) were calculated to assess DASS-21 internal consistency and convergent validity.

Results: A total of 1,606/ 1,745 (92.6%) students returned the questionnaire. Of those, 1,387 students provided complete DASS-21 data. The scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency (Cronbach α: 0.761 to 0.906). A four-factor model showed the best fit to the data. Items loaded significantly on a common general distress factor, the depression, and the anxiety factors, but few on the stress factor (p<0.05). DASS-21 convergent validity was confirmed with moderate correlation coefficients (-0.47 to -0.66) between its factor scores and the ADHP-V mental health related domains.

Conclusions: The DASS-21 is reliable and suitable for use to assess symptoms of common mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety among Vietnamese adolescents. However, its ability in detecting stress among these adolescents may be limited. Further research is warrant to explore these results.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1. Factor loadings of the DASS-21-V…
Fig 1. Factor loadings of the DASS-21-V among a sample of adolescents in Vietnam (errors for all items were removed for simplicity of the figure).

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Source: PubMed

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