14. Tagung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Psychologie

Factor Structure of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) Among Primary Caregivers in Southeastern Europe

6 Sep 2022, 13:00

1h

Foyer/Cafeteria

Posterpräsentation Postersession 2

Speakers

Hugh Murphy (Klagenfurt University) Katharina Prandstetter (Universität Klagenfurt) Ivo Kunovski (Institute for Marriage, Family and Systemic Practice – ALTERNATIVA, Macedonia) Diana Taut (Babes-Bolyai University, Romania) Judy Hutchings (Bangor University, United Kingdom) Catherine Ward (University of Cape Town, South Africa) Heather Foran (Universität Klagenfurt)

Description

Objective: To evaluate the factor structure of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) among caregivers of young children in Southeastern Europe. Background: The DASS-21 is a widely used measure in prevention and intervention research. However, studies regarding the scale’s psychometric properties among caregivers from non-Western countries are limited, and additional research is required. Method: The DASS-21 was administered to N = 835 primary caregivers from North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, and Romania. Competing models were tested with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Measurement invariance was assessed using Multi-Group CFA (MGCFA). Results: A tripartite model represented the data well with two specific (depression and anxiety) and one general (negative affectivity) factor. However, reliability and dimensionality indices indicated a primarily unidimensional structure. This model demonstrated cross-country configural and partial metric invariance. Conclusion: The DASS-21, in this sample, is best utilised as a unidimensional measure of negative affectivity. Further research is needed to clarify whether these findings are replicable across samples.