---
title: "DASS-21: Score & Interpret (Depression, Anxiety, Stress)"
url: "https://www.ellomind.com/ai-tools-for-psychologists/scales/dass-21/"
description: "DASS-21 scoring tool for clinicians: enter the 21 items, with the scoring key, subscale severity bands and a ready-made AI prompt to score de-identified responses. Free, India-first."
---
Depression · Anxiety · Stress 

# Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21)

Self-report · 21 items · 3 min

Score the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) and read the three subscale severities instantly. Twenty-one items shown in full, with an AI prompt to score de-identified responses in any assistant.

Copy prompt Download as .md

**De-identify first.** The prompt runs in your own AI assistant. Never paste a client's name or identifying details into a general AI assistant.

## What it measures

The DASS-21 is the short form of Lovibond and Lovibond's Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. It measures three related but distinct negative emotional states over the past week: depression, anxiety and stress, with seven items each.

It is a dimensional self-report measure, not a categorical diagnostic tool. It is useful as a broad screen, for tracking change, and for separating low mood from anxiety and general tension. Scores are interpreted per subscale, not as a single total.

## The DASS-21 items

Over the past week, how much did each statement apply to the client?

1. I found it hard to wind down.
2. I was aware of dryness of my mouth.
3. I couldn't seem to experience any positive feeling at all.
4. I experienced breathing difficulty (e.g. excessively rapid breathing, breathlessness in the absence of physical exertion).
5. I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do things.
6. I tended to over-react to situations.
7. I experienced trembling (e.g. in the hands).
8. I felt that I was using a lot of nervous energy.
9. I was worried about situations in which I might panic and make a fool of myself.
10. I felt that I had nothing to look forward to.
11. I found myself getting agitated.
12. I found it difficult to relax.
13. I felt down-hearted and blue.
14. I was intolerant of anything that kept me from getting on with what I was doing.
15. I felt I was close to panic.
16. I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything.
17. I felt I wasn't worth much as a person.
18. I felt that I was rather touchy.
19. I was aware of the action of my heart in the absence of physical exertion (e.g. sense of heart rate increase, heart missing a beat).
20. I felt scared without any good reason.
21. I felt that life was meaningless.

**Response options:** Did not apply (0), Some of the time (1), A good part of time (2), Most of the time (3).

## Scoring and interpretation

The client rates each item 0 to 3 for how much it applied to them over the past week. Sum the seven items in each subscale, then multiply each subscale sum by two so the scores line up with the original DASS-42 severity bands. The AI prompt below does this from de-identified responses.

Read each subscale against its own severity range. The bands label the score from normal through to extremely severe; they describe symptom severity relative to the population, not a diagnosis.

### Depression (items 3, 5, 10, 13, 16, 17, 21, ×2)

| Score | Interpretation   |
| ----- | ---------------- |
| 0–9   | Normal           |
| 10–13 | Mild             |
| 14–20 | Moderate         |
| 21–27 | Severe           |
| 28+   | Extremely severe |

### Anxiety (items 2, 4, 7, 9, 15, 19, 20, ×2)

| Score | Interpretation   |
| ----- | ---------------- |
| 0–7   | Normal           |
| 8–9   | Mild             |
| 10–14 | Moderate         |
| 15–19 | Severe           |
| 20+   | Extremely severe |

### Stress (items 1, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 18, ×2)

| Score | Interpretation   |
| ----- | ---------------- |
| 0–14  | Normal           |
| 15–18 | Mild             |
| 19–25 | Moderate         |
| 26–33 | Severe           |
| 34+   | Extremely severe |

Each subscale sum is multiplied by two to match the original DASS-42 severity bands. Interpret each subscale on its own.

## Score it with AI

A ready-made prompt that turns any AI assistant into a scorer for the DASS-21\. Paste it in, add the client's de-identified responses, and it computes the score and interpretation. Copy it, or download it to save as a reusable prompt.

1. 1 Copy the prompt below, or download it as a file.
2. 2 Open your AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any LLM).
3. 3 Paste the prompt, then add the client's de-identified responses.
4. 4 Review the score and interpretation before you use them.

You are a careful scoring assistant for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), helping a qualified professional. You are a scoring aid, not a clinician: you do not diagnose or recommend treatment.

Ground rules:
- Use ONLY the items, response options and cut-offs given below as the source of truth. Do not rely on any version of this scale from memory; scales have variants and remembered items, scoring or cut-offs may be wrong.
- If anything I paste could identify a client, stop and ask me to de-identify it before scoring.
- Never guess, impute, average, or fill in a missing or unclear response.

Scale: self-report measure, 21 items.
Each item is scored: 0 = Did not apply; 1 = Some of the time; 2 = A good part of time; 3 = Most of the time.

Items:
1. I found it hard to wind down.
2. I was aware of dryness of my mouth.
3. I couldn't seem to experience any positive feeling at all.
4. I experienced breathing difficulty (e.g. excessively rapid breathing, breathlessness in the absence of physical exertion).
5. I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do things.
6. I tended to over-react to situations.
7. I experienced trembling (e.g. in the hands).
8. I felt that I was using a lot of nervous energy.
9. I was worried about situations in which I might panic and make a fool of myself.
10. I felt that I had nothing to look forward to.
11. I found myself getting agitated.
12. I found it difficult to relax.
13. I felt down-hearted and blue.
14. I was intolerant of anything that kept me from getting on with what I was doing.
15. I felt I was close to panic.
16. I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything.
17. I felt I wasn't worth much as a person.
18. I felt that I was rather touchy.
19. I was aware of the action of my heart in the absence of physical exertion (e.g. sense of heart rate increase, heart missing a beat).
20. I felt scared without any good reason.
21. I felt that life was meaningless.

Subscales (sum only the listed items):
- Depression: items 3, 5, 10, 13, 16, 17, 21, then multiply the subscale sum (not the total) by 2.
- Anxiety: items 2, 4, 7, 9, 15, 19, 20, then multiply the subscale sum (not the total) by 2.
- Stress: items 1, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 18, then multiply the subscale sum (not the total) by 2.

Interpretation (ranges are inclusive; work out from these bands whether a higher score means more or less of the construct):
- Depression: 0–9 Normal; 10–13 Mild; 14–20 Moderate; 21–27 Severe; 28+ Extremely severe.
- Anxiety: 0–7 Normal; 8–9 Mild; 10–14 Moderate; 15–19 Severe; 20+ Extremely severe.
- Stress: 0–14 Normal; 15–18 Mild; 19–25 Moderate; 26–33 Severe; 34+ Extremely severe.

When I give the client's de-identified responses, work in this order:
1. Parse them as item → value and restate the table so I can check it. If I give option labels, the client's words, or a finer scale than the options above, map each to the listed values and show the mapping.
2. Validate before scoring: confirm there are exactly 21 responses, each within its allowed range. If any are missing, extra, duplicated, out of range, or ambiguous, STOP and tell me what is wrong. Do not score a partial or invalid set.
3. Show your work: list the value used for each item (after any reverse-scoring), then add them explicitly. Compute each subscale sum, multiply it as noted above, and report each subscale score. Use only the numbers above.
4. Report, in this order:
   - the each subscale score and, if relevant, the total score;
   - the severity band, quoting the exact range it falls in;
   - one or two sentences on what the score means on this scale;
   - this caveat: Each subscale sum is multiplied by two to match the original DASS-42 severity bands. Interpret each subscale on its own.
   - a reminder that the DASS-21 is a screening or rating aid, not a diagnosis, to be read within a full clinical assessment.
5. Re-check the arithmetic before finalising, and do not add a diagnosis, formulation or treatment plan unless I ask separately.

Here are the de-identified responses:

Copy prompt Download as .md

Before you rely on the score

* **Check the maths yourself.** AI assistants can still add up wrong or misapply a rule. The prompt makes the assistant show each item's value and the sum, so glance over that working, and re-total anything you will act on.
* **Confirm it used this scale.** Check that the items, response values, reverse-scoring and cut-offs it used match this page, not a different or outdated version the model recalled.
* **Watch for missing or odd inputs.** The prompt is told to stop rather than guess a missing or out-of-range response. If it scores anyway, treat the result as unreliable and re-check your inputs.
* **Act on critical items regardless of the total.** Respond to risk indicators, such as a self-harm item, on their own merit, even when the overall score looks low.
* **De-identify first, every time.** The assistant runs in your own account, outside ElloMind. Never enter a client's name or identifying details.
* **It is a screening aid, not the decision.** The score supports your clinical judgement within a full assessment. It does not diagnose, and it does not decide.

## Use the score in your notes

Take the score into a de-identified write-up with one of the free AI tools.

[Formulation Case formulation (5Ps and CBT)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/case-formulation/) [Treatment planning Treatment plan (SMART goals)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/treatment-plan/) [Documentation Progress note (SOAP, DAP, BIRP)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/progress-note-writer/)

## Citation and sources

Lovibond, S.H. & Lovibond, P.F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed.). Psychology Foundation of Australia.

The DASS is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded and used. Attribute to Lovibond & Lovibond.

* [DASS (official page)](http://www2.psy.unsw.edu.au/dass/)  — UNSW Psychology
* [DASS overview](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DASS%5F%28psychology%29)  — Wikipedia

## Frequently asked questions

How is the DASS-21 scored? + 

Each item is rated 0 to 3\. Sum the seven items in each subscale (Depression, Anxiety, Stress), then multiply each sum by two. Read each doubled score against its own severity band. There is no single total score.

Why multiply the DASS-21 scores by two? + 

The DASS-21 is half the length of the original DASS-42\. Doubling each subscale sum lets you use the same, well-established DASS-42 severity cut-offs.

Is the DASS-21 free to use? + 

Yes. The DASS is in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and used, with attribution to Lovibond & Lovibond.

Does ElloMind see the client's data? + 

No. The prompt runs in your own AI assistant, and ElloMind never sees it. De-identify client information first.

## More scales

[Depression Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/scales/phq-9-depression-scale/) [Anxiety Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/scales/gad-7-anxiety-scale/) [Depression Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/scales/hamilton-depression-rating-scale/) [Anxiety Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A)](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/scales/hamilton-anxiety-rating-scale/)

A screening and rating aid for qualified professionals, not a diagnosis or a substitute for clinical judgement. Interpret every score within a full assessment. Never paste identifiable client data into a general AI assistant. If a client is in crisis, contact a [crisis helpline](/crisis-helpline/) right away.

[Back to all scales](/ai-tools-for-psychologists/scales/)