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Psychometric Properties of the DASS-21 Among Latina/o College Students by the US-Mexico Border

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Abstract

Anxious-depression symptomatology is frequently encountered among Latina/o individuals. There is a dearth of studies that examine this mixed class of anxiety and depression symptomatology, especially among Latina/o college students by the US-Mexico border. A total of 505 participants from rural institutions of higher education completed the DASS21. Psychometric properties were measured by means of confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to determine gender differences in depression, anxiety and stress. Among women, 18 % reported at least moderate levels of depressive symptoms, 33.1 % reported at least moderate levels of anxiety symptoms, and 16.4 % reported at least moderate levels of stress. In men, 15.9 % reported at least moderate levels of depressive symptoms, 34.1 % reported at least moderate levels of anxiety symptoms, and 12.9 % reported at least moderate levels of stress. The EFA supported a one dimension factor (anxious/stress-depression) among this sample of Latina/o college students (Bartlett’s test = 4960.9; df = 210; p ≤ 0.01; Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin = 0.95). The MANOVA found no significant gender differences in depression, anxiety symptomatology and stress [Wilks’Λ = 0.99; F = (3, 500) = 2.41; p = 0.07]. The DASS-21 showed a one dimensional construct of anxious/stress-depression symptomatology in a Latina/o rural undergraduate sample, raising awareness to the need to screen and monitor this constellation of symptoms.

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Acknowledgments

Ms. Tara Perkins is currently a doctoral student in the School of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Psychiatry, Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 2417 Marshall Ave. Ste 4, Imperial, San Diego, CA, 92251, USA

    Álvaro Camacho

  2. Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, Imperial Valley, San Diego, CA, USA

    Álvaro Camacho, Elizabeth D. Cordero & Tara Perkins

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Correspondence to Álvaro Camacho.

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Camacho, Á., Cordero, E.D. & Perkins, T. Psychometric Properties of the DASS-21 Among Latina/o College Students by the US-Mexico Border. J Immigrant Minority Health 18, 1017–1023 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0415-1

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