Research report: Cross-national validation of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for Youth (DASS-Y) in Lebanese and Chinese adolescents

The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for Youth (DASS-Y) showed different factor structures among Lebanese and Chinese adolescents in a cross-national psychometric study, despite strong reliability in both samples. Lebanese responses largely fit a single general-distress construct, whereas an exploratory structural equation modeling solution better represented the Chinese data. In both populations, general distress remained dominant, but depression, anxiety and stress were more clearly differentiated among the Chinese adolescents.

The study analyzed 758 Lebanese adolescents with a mean age of 15.95 years and a standard deviation of 1.78, of whom 63.2% were female. It also included 1,062 Chinese adolescents with a mean age of 16.83 years and a standard deviation of 0.59, of whom 47.5% were female. The investigators characterized the Lebanese participants as experiencing enduring sociopolitical strain and the Chinese participants as living under comparatively stable conditions.

The analysis compared how the scale functioned in the two national samples; it did not directly establish that distress was more prevalent in either country. Researchers assessed the psychometric properties of the DASS-Y with confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory structural equation modeling and bifactor variants of both approaches. They also used Rasch analysis to evaluate differential item functioning across the samples.

The results showed that measurement precision was high in both groups. For the depression, anxiety and stress subscales, composite reliability ranged from 0.91 to 0.95, average variance extracted ranged from 0.58 to 0.71, and person separation reliability ranged from 0.79 to 0.85. Total-score composite reliability was 0.97 in both samples, while total average variance extracted was 0.63 for Lebanese adolescents and 0.61 for Chinese adolescents.

Thus, the observed difference in factor structure was not attributed to weak reliability or imprecise measurement. Several items, mainly in the stress subscale, functioned non-equivalently across the two samples. A 12-item short form also produced strong reliability results.

Its subscale composite reliability ranged from 0.88 to 0.92 and its average variance extracted ranged from 0.65 to 0.73. Total composite reliability was 0.96 in the Lebanese sample and 0.94 in the Chinese sample, while total average variance extracted was 0.64 and 0.57, respectively. The investigators described this brief version as a practical screening option pending further cross-national confirmation.

Overall, the findings support the DASS-Y’s strong reliability in both adolescent samples while showing that the scale’s internal structure was not identical across them. The study does not establish that the short form can be used without qualification in other countries or populations, and broader cross-national confirmation remains necessary.

Subject of Research: Cross-national psychometric validation of the DASS-Y among Lebanese and Chinese adolescents

Article Title: Cross-national validation of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for Youth (DASS-Y) in Lebanese and Chinese adolescents

Article References: Huang, C., Chen, X.-M., Fekih-Romdhane, F., Obeid, S., Chen, I.-H., Liao, X.-L., Xu, P., Lee, Z.-H., Hallit, S., & Malas, O. (2026). Cross-national validation of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for Youth (DASS-Y) in Lebanese and Chinese adolescents. PLOS One, 21(10), e0360807. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360807

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0360807

Keywords: DASS-Y, adolescent mental health, psychometrics, measurement equivalence, factor structure, reliability, Rasch analysis, Lebanon, China, screening scales, Cross-national, validation