Structural validity of the DASS-21 during pandemic-induced psychological distress

Inconsistent findings regarding the factor structure of the Depression Anxiety and Depression Scale (DASS-21) have been reported in the literature. The present study attempted to validate the factor structure and internal consistency of DASS-21 during COVID-19 pandemic with two different samples: the frontline workers and non-frontline workers. A critical time period and nature of work were two key factors during pandemic that made it important to test the factor structure of the scale. Using an online survey with snowball sampling, DASS-21 was administered on 265 frontline workers (associated with hospital, police, and security) and 835 non-frontline workers in India across 5 states. Several models were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. Among them, a three-factor model comprising Physiological arousal, Anhedonia, and General Negative Affect demonstrated the best fit, differing from the originally proposed structure. Additionally, the DASS-21 subscales exhibited a very high intercorrelations (r = .94–.96). This pattern may suggest that the subscales assess highly overlapping dimensions of psychological distress in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. An alternative explanation is that the pandemic elicited a pervasive and heightened distress response, resulting in a convergence of symptom expression across domains. Based on the findings of the present study, it may be concluded that the DASS-21 is a reliable measure of negative psychological affect; however, the originally conceptualized factor structure could not be replicated, indicating the need for theoretical refinement and further exploration of the construct’s dimensionality.