Psychometric validation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale for Youth (DASS-Y) in Arabic and development of an Abridged Version (DASS-Y-12)

Abstract

Background To better target the treatment of affective disturbances and improve the effectiveness of programs for prevention and intervention, the need for a reliable and valid measuring tool for the assessment of depression, anxiety, and stress among youth is notable. Therefore, the primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale for Youth (DASS-Y) 21 items within a non-clinical sample of Arabic-speaking adolescents from Lebanon. The secondary aim was to develop and validate a new shortened version of the DASS-Y composed of 12 items (DASS-Y-12). Methods Seven hundred fifty-eight participants completed the survey, with a mean age of 15.95 ± 1.78 years and 63.2% females. The forward and backward translation method was applied with the approval of the original developers of the scales. Results CFA indicated that the fit of the three-factor model of the DASS-Y and the DASS-Y-12 was excellent. Internal reliability of the scale was excellent for depression, anxiety and stress in the long and short forms. Indices suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across gender in the long and short forms. Higher suicidal ideation and lower academic performance were significantly associated with higher depression, anxiety and stress as assessed by the DASS-Y and the DASS-Y-12. Conclusion The present findings indicate that the validated Arabic version of the DASS-Y, and the developed-shortened version DASS-Y-12 are reliable, valid, easy-to-use and low-cost tool to assess depression, anxiety, and stress among Arabic-speaking adolescents. Making those scales available in Arabic will hopefully stimulate research in this field within Arab countries, benefiting the struggling youth in these contexts.