Translation and validation of the Malay version of the short-form DASS-21 for the epidemiology survey of working population

Increasing occurrences of mental health problems such as depression,anxiety and stress amongst workers presents practical demands for employers and occupational health practitioners to assess the self-perceived depression,anxiety and stress in workers with reliable and valid instruments.The present study aims to validate the Malay version of the short form Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) among Malaysian workers designed to screen the self-reported of depression,anxiety and stress among workers in Malaysia.Eighty-eight workers of two major automotive assembly plants in Pekan,Pahang consented to participate in the study and was administered the Malay version of the DASS-21.Translation (English-Malay) and back translation (Malay-English) of the DASS-21 was made to ensure the face validity of the questionnaire.Reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency whilst construct validity was assessed using the exploratory factor analysis (principal component analysis with varimax rotation).The results indicated that the Cronbach's alpha coefficients were acceptable for DASS-Depression (0.81),DASS-Anxiety (0.85) and DASS-Stress (0.85).Exploratory factor analysis showed three meaningful common factors that could explain the three theoretical dimensions or constructs of the DASS-21.The validation study suggests that the Malay version of DASS-21 is reliable and valid screening instruments for assessing self-reported depression,anxiety and stress in Malaysian working population.