Translation and Validation of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale in Telugu Language

Background: The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) is an extensively followed self-report measure for assessing negative emotional states. The current research aimed to translate the original English version of DASS-21 into Telugu and to evaluate its validity within a Telugu-speaking population in India. Methods: The DASS-21 was rendered into Telugu using separate translations (forward and backwards) by multilingual specialists. A total of 533 Indian volunteers participated in the research and completed a set of questions. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported both one-factor and three-factor models. Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) demonstrated superior model fit and further indicated the existence of a dominant general distress factor underlying all the items. Besides that, bifactor analysis revealed a very good model fit, supporting the existence of a strong general distress factor alongside the specific depression, anxiety, and stress dimensions. The Telugu DASS-21 manifested excellent internal consistency. It further exhibited a significant positive correlation with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the negative effect dimension of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE-N). Conclusions: The Telugu translated version of the DASS-21 demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, including structural validity, internal consistency, and convergent validity. The findings support the assessment of psychological distress among Telugu-speaking populations and suggest that the scale primarily reflects a broad general distress construct while retaining domain-specific symptom dimensions. Further studies can examine additional psychometric properties and validate the scale in diverse and clinical populations.