Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-42) Assessment

Subscale snapshot

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Quick 42-item check-in for depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms over the past week.

Answer every question. Your first reaction is usually best.
Your responses stay only in this browser unless you export them.
The three DASS subscales remain the official reading. The raw total is for same-person monitoring only.

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Subscale lane map

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Snapshot context

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Most endorsed items

These answers currently carry the most weight in the profile. Use them to keep follow-up concrete instead of relying on the headline score alone.

Official subscale lanes

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Official dASS-42 cutoff matrix

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These are the official DASS-42 subscale cutoffs. Because this tool uses the full 42-item form, the displayed subscale scores are direct DASS-42 totals and are not doubled. The 0 to 126 raw total is not an official DASS severity scale.

Response intensity mix

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Answer review

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DASS-42 is the full Depression Anxiety Stress Scales questionnaire. It asks how much 42 symptom statements applied over the past week and reports separate Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scores.

The full form is useful when a broader item sample matters. Each domain has 14 items, so the subscale scores are direct 0 to 42 sums. Depression covers low positive feeling, hopelessness, loss of interest, self-deprecation, and low initiative. Anxiety covers acute fear, panic-like body arousal, trembling, breathlessness, and apprehension. Stress covers tension, irritability, impatience, over-reaction, and difficulty calming down.

DASS-42 scoring map from 42 answers to three direct subscale scores and a raw total

DASS-42 is a dimensional screen, not a diagnosis. It can clarify current symptom severity and make follow-up more concrete, but clinical decisions require history, impairment, medical context, and direct safety assessment.

Use the subscale profile first. The raw 0 to 126 total can help compare repeat runs, but it should not replace the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress bands.

How to Use This Tool:

Answer all 42 statements for the same past-week window, then move from the summary to the subscale and item details.

Select Begin Assessment and choose one 0 to 3 response for each statement, from Did not apply to me at all (never) through Applied to me very much, or most of the time (almost always).
Use the progress bar and x / 42 answered label to make sure no item is skipped. The navigator marks completed items with a check icon.
If Subscale snapshot does not appear, find the unanswered navigator row, select a response, and confirm that the result panel renders.
Read Overall lane, Top area, Cutoff context, and Follow-up timing before reacting to the raw total.
Use Official subscale lanes and Official DASS-42 cutoff matrix to confirm the exact band for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress.
Compare Most endorsed items, Subscale lane map, and Response intensity mix to see whether the profile is broad, concentrated, or led by a few maximum-rated answers.
Review Answer review when exact item wording matters for a private note or qualified follow-up.

Interpreting Results:

Start with the highest official subscale band, then check whether the other subscales are close behind. A Moderate stress score with Normal depression and anxiety points to a different follow-up conversation than three Mild scores that add up to the same raw total.

A Moderate, Severe, or Extremely Severe band means higher current symptom burden on that DASS subscale. It does not prove a diagnosis.
A Normal band does not rule out mental-health concerns, medical contributors, medication effects, substance effects, or safety needs not captured by this questionnaire.
The raw total can stay the same while the profile changes. Depression may fall while Anxiety rises, so compare the three subscales separately.
Many responses rated 2 or 3 suggest broad recent load. A smaller number rated 3 points to concentrated items worth naming directly.

A useful follow-up note names the highest subscale, its score and band, and two or three statements from Most endorsed items. That gives more context than a single total score.

Technical Details:

DASS-42 has 14 items per domain, each scored from 0 to 3. No items are reverse scored. Because the full form already reaches 42 points per subscale, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress are not doubled.

The DASS model treats the three scores as dimensional measures of recent symptom load. Severity labels describe degree within the current past-week frame; they do not assign DSM or ICD diagnostic categories.

Formula Core:

The scoring core is the sum of item responses in each domain:

\begin{array}{lll} D & = & \sum_{i \in Dep}^{14} r_{i} \\ A & = & \sum_{i \in Anx}^{14} r_{i} \\ S & = & \sum_{i \in Str}^{14} r_{i} \\ Raw total & = & D + A + S \end{array}

If Depression sums to 14, Anxiety to 7, and Stress to 19, the raw total is 40/126. The official interpretation still uses Depression Moderate, Anxiety Normal, and Stress Moderate rather than a single combined severity label.

DASS-42 score construction by subscale
Score	Item numbers	Range	Main content
Depression	3, 5, 10, 13, 16, 17, 21, 24, 26, 31, 34, 37, 38, 42	0 to 42	Low positive feeling, hopelessness, reduced interest, self-deprecation, and low initiative.
Anxiety	2, 4, 7, 9, 15, 19, 20, 23, 25, 28, 30, 36, 40, 41	0 to 42	Fear, panic-like arousal, trembling, breathlessness, heart awareness, and apprehension.
Stress	1, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 18, 22, 27, 29, 32, 33, 35, 39	0 to 42	Tension, irritability, impatience, over-reaction, agitation, and difficulty calming down.
Raw total	Depression + Anxiety + Stress	0 to 126	Same-person monitoring aid, not an official DASS severity scale.

All ranges below are inclusive. Depression 13 remains Mild and 14 starts Moderate; anxiety 19 remains Severe and 20 starts Extremely Severe; stress 33 remains Severe and 34 starts Extremely Severe.

DASS-42 severity ranges with inclusive bounds
Severity band	Depression	Anxiety	Stress
Normal	0 to 9	0 to 7	0 to 14
Mild	10 to 13	8 to 9	15 to 18
Moderate	14 to 20	10 to 14	19 to 25
Severe	21 to 27	15 to 19	26 to 33
Extremely Severe	28 to 42	20 to 42	34 to 42

Limitations:

DASS-42 organizes self-reported symptoms, but it cannot decide diagnosis, risk, treatment, or cause by itself.

The past-week frame must stay consistent across all 42 answers.
The questionnaire does not include direct suicide-risk items, so immediate safety concerns need separate assessment and local support.
Copied result links and exported records can contain sensitive answers.

Worked Examples:

Stress is the only moderate subscale

A completed run shows Depression 6/42 Normal, Anxiety 8/42 Mild, and Stress 19/42 Moderate. The raw total is 33/126, but the actionable signal is stress crossing its Moderate cutoff. Follow-up should focus on overload, irritability, and recovery time.

One answer changes a band

A profile first shows Depression 13/42 Mild. After checking the answer table, one depression item is corrected from 1 to 2, and Depression becomes 14/42 Moderate. The raw total changes by one point, but the band changes because 14 is the first Moderate depression score.

The raw total hides a profile shift

A repeat run keeps the raw total at 45/126, while Depression falls from 18/42 to 11/42 and Anxiety rises from 8/42 to 15/42. The total looks unchanged, but the follow-up topic has moved from low mood toward stronger anxiety symptoms.

The result panel is missing

The progress label reads 41 / 42 answered, and Subscale snapshot is absent. Select the navigator row without a check mark, answer it, and confirm that Official subscale lanes, Subscale lane map, and Answer review appear.

FAQ:

Is DASS-42 a diagnosis?

No. It reports past-week symptom severity for depression, anxiety, and stress. Diagnosis still depends on duration, impairment, clinical interview, medical context, and safety assessment.

Why are there three scores?

The DASS reading uses separate Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scores. The raw total helps with monitoring, but the subscales carry the main interpretation.

Do DASS-21 doubling rules apply here?

No. The full form already has 14 items per subscale, so Depression, Anxiety, and Stress are direct 0 to 42 sums.

Why are the charts not showing?

Charts and tables appear only after all 42 items are answered. Check the progress count and the navigator for any item without a check mark.

Can I share the result link?

You can copy a result link, but treat it as private because it can preserve the response pattern. Review Answer review before sharing any record.

Glossary:

DASS-42: The full 42-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales questionnaire.
Subscale: One of the three DASS score groups: Depression, Anxiety, or Stress.
Raw total: The sum of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress, shown from 0 to 126 for monitoring.
Severity band: A labeled score range such as Normal, Mild, Moderate, Severe, or Extremely Severe.
Response intensity mix: The count of 0, 1, 2, and 3 responses within each DASS domain.

References:

Overview of the DASS and its uses, Psychology Foundation of Australia / UNSW DASS.
DASS response form, Psychology Foundation of Australia / UNSW DASS.
DASS scoring template, Psychology Foundation of Australia / UNSW DASS.