Background

Although the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, Short Form (DASS-21) was developed for adults, its authors noted no compelling reasons to not use the measure with youth as young as 12 years. Despite increasingly widespread use with youth, psychometric evidence in support of its use with this population needs to be investigated to fully understand its utility.

Objective

The goal of this paper was to conduct a systematic review to identify and appraise evidence for the psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, Short Form (DASS-21) when used with youth populations.

Methods

Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, this systematic review identified 18 studies that reported relevant information on the psychometrics of the DASS-21 with youth samples. Each article was coded for evidence of three indicators of particular importance to progress monitoring: reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change.

Results

Studies have found varied factor structures (i.e., 1–4 factors) for the DASS-21 and validity evidence based on relations to other variables has been limited. As such, further research is needed to understand the utility of the depression, anxiety, and stress subscales. Furthermore, no information is currently available about the sensitivity to change of the measure.

Conclusions

Most studies reporting psychometric properties in this review utilized the DASS-21 with mixed-gender groups of secondary school students, thus supporting its use with similar populations. Pending additional inquiry, however, both researchers and practitioners are encouraged to utilize the total score, for which stronger evidence of reliability and validity exist.

中文翻译：

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支持青少年使用抑郁焦虑压力量表简表 (DASS-21) 的心理测量证据的系统回顾

背景

尽管抑郁焦虑压力量表简表 (DASS-21) 是为成年人开发的，但其作者指出，没有令人信服的理由不对 12 岁以下的青少年使用该量表。尽管在年轻人中的使用越来越广泛，但需要调查支持其在该人群中使用的心理测量证据，以充分了解其效用。

客观的

本文的目的是进行系统回顾，以识别和评估抑郁焦虑压力量表简表（DASS-21）在青少年群体中使用时的心理测量特性的证据。

方法

根据系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告项目 (PRISMA) 指南，本系统评价确定了 18 项研究，这些研究报告了 DASS-21 青少年样本心理测量学的相关信息。每篇文章都被编码为对进展监测特别重要的三个指标的证据：可靠性、有效性和对变化的敏感性。

结果

研究发现 DASS-21 具有不同的因子结构（即 1-4 个因子），并且基于与其他变量的关系的有效性证据有限。因此，需要进一步研究来了解抑郁、焦虑和压力分量表的效用。此外，目前还没有关于措施变化的敏感性的信息。

结论

本综述中报告心理测量特性的大多数研究都将 DASS-21 应用于混合性别的中学生群体，从而支持其在类似人群中的使用。然而，在进一步调查之前，鼓励研究人员和从业者使用总分，因为总分存在更有力的可靠性和有效性证据。