Revisiting the Construct Validity of the DASS-21 in Thai Young People: Evidence for a General Distress Factor from a Cross-Sectional Psychometric Study

Background/Objectives: The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) is widely used to assess psychological distress, but its factor structure may vary across contexts. This study evaluated the factor structure and construct validity of the Thai DASS-21 among Thai young people.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 220 Thai young people aged 12-24 years completed the DASS-21 and measures of psychological well-being, mindfulness, and suicide risk. Exploratory factor analysis used principal axis factoring with unrestricted, two-factor, and three-factor solutions; oblimin rotation was used for the specified solutions. FA-based parallel analysis was conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis of ordinal items compared one-factor, two-factor, and original three-factor models in the same sample.