Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale

Each of the questions in the above calculator (DASS 21) is given a number of points, ranging from 0 to 3. Three dimensions are evaluated, depression, anxiety and stress. The scoring and severity of each dimension is summarised below:

Depression Normal 0 - 4  •  Mild 5 - 6  •  Moderate 7 - 10 • Severe 11 - 13  •  Extremely severe ≥14

Anxiety Normal 0 - 3  •  Mild 4 - 5  •  Moderate 6 - 7  •  Severe 8 - 9  •  Extremely severe ≥10

Stress  Normal 0 - 7  •  Mild 8 - 9  •  Moderate 10 - 12  •  Severe 13 - 16  •  Extremely severe ≥17 

The essential function of this questionnaire is to assess the severity of the core symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The Depression scale assesses dysphoria, hopelessness, devaluation of life, self-deprecation, lack of interest/involvement, anhedonia, and inertia. The Anxiety scale assesses autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects, situational anxiety, and subjective experience of anxious affect. The Stress scale is sensitive to levels of chronic non-specific arousal. It assesses difficulty relaxing, nervous arousal, and being easily upset/agitated, irritable/over-reactive and impatient. 

Henry JD, Crawford JR. The short-form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21): construct validity and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. Br J Clin Psychol. 2005; 44(Pt 2):227-39.

Lovibond PF, Lovibond SH. The Structure of Negative Emotional States: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, Behav. Res. Ther., Vol 33: No 3, 335-343, 1995.

Wiseman TA, Curtis K, Lam M, Foster K. Incidence of depression, anxiety and stress following traumatic injury: a longitudinal study. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. 2015; 23:29.