Open AccessConcurrent and Predictive Validity of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 in Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Study with Controlling the Confounding Factors
Author(s) -
Ghasem Salehpoor,
Habib Hadianfard
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
majallah-i taḥqīqāt-i ̒ulūm-i pizishkī-i zāhidān/majallah-i taḥqīqāt-i ̒ulūm-i pizishkī-i zāhidān./zahedan journal of researches in medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2228-6403
pISSN - 2008-7977
DOI - 10.5812/zjrms.92855
Subject(s) - dass , anxiety , depression (economics) , concurrent validity , confounding , clinical psychology , cross sectional study , psychological intervention , medicine , explained variation , predictive validity , mental health , psychology , psychiatry , psychometrics , pathology , internal consistency , economics , macroeconomics , machine learning , computer science
Background: The assessment of psychological symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients could play a key role in identifying the adverse effects of the disease. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the concurrent and predictive validity of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) in patients with MS. Methods: In a cross‐sectional study in 2010, 162 patients were selected by a consecutive method. Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) Questionnaire were used in this study. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multivariate hierarchical regression analyses. Results: The findings of the present study revealed that DASS-21 subscales have a strong correlation with the constructs of fatigue and SF-36 components (r = 0.29 to -0.71; P < 0.01). In addition, each of the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress independently predicted a significant proportion of the variance in the scores on fatigue and eight aspects of health (P ≤ 0.006) even after controlling the confounding factors. Conclusions: The present study has highlighted the concurrent and predictive validity of DASS-21 in MS. Thus, this study suggests that therapeutic interventions for reducing psychological symptoms can lead to an improvement in different dimensions of health.