Psychometric properties of the DASS-Depression scale among a Brazilian population with chronic pain

• Published in: Journal of psychosomatic research Vol. 64; no. 1; pp. 25 - 31
• Main Authors: Sardá, Jamir, Nicholas, Michael K, Pimenta, Cibele A.M, Asghari, Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 2008; New York, NY Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Brazil; Brazilian people; Chronic Disease; Chronic pain; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Depression; Depressive Disorder - complications; Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Female; Humans; Language; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pain - psychology; Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data; Psychiatry; Psychological assessment; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometric properties; Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychophysiologic Disorders - psychology; Reproducibility of Results; Sick Role; Techniques and methods; South America; Brazil; America; Depression; Psychological assessment; Psychometric properties; Chronic pain; Mood disorder; Social environment; Human; Factor analysis; Mental health; Internal consistency; Psychometrics; Test reliability; Item analysis; Test validation; Chronic; Pain; Predictive validity; Public health
• ISSN: 0022-3999; 1879-1360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2007.05.015

Abstract Background Depression is a common contributor to suffering and disability in people with chronic pain. However, the assessment of depression in this population has been hampered by the presence of a number of somatic symptoms that are shared between chronic pain, treatment side-effects and traditional concepts of depression. As a result, the use of depression measures that do not contain somatic items has been encouraged. Objective This study examined the psychometric properties of the Depression sub-scale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) in a Brazilian chronic pain patient population. Method Data on a number of measures were collected from 348 participants attending pain facilities. Results Principal components and exploratory factor analyses indicated the presence of only one factor. Item analyses indicated adequate item-scale correlations. The Cronbach α was .96, which suggests an excellent internal consistency. Conclusion The DASS-Depression scale has adequate psychometric properties and its further use with Brazilian chronic pain populations can now be supported.