Validity and reliability of a depression, anxiety and stress scale in Cuban dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: An indisputable consequence has to do with the psychological impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on health professionals and students. In Cuba, these psychological
manifestations have scarcely been investigated, and there are no reports in the dental
undergraduate program. Objective: To analyze the evidence of validity and reliability of a
scale of depression, anxiety and stress in Cuban dental students in the context of COVID-
19. Materials and Methods: An instrumental and cross-sectional study was carried out,
which included students of all years and Cuban universities. A documentary measurement
instrument was validated, using its main psychometric evidence. Convergent validity was
analyzed and reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results: 301
students were included, of which 74.09% were women and whose ages ranged from 17 to
30 years. The asymmetry and kurtosis values of all items were adequate (> ± 1.5). The
confirmatory factorial analysis showed that the factorial structure of 21 items distributed in
3 factors is satisfactory. The goodness of fit indices was satisfactory. The scale factors are
directly and significantly related. With Cronbach's α coefficient, the scale scores were
estimated to be reliable. Conclusions: the depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21)
in Cuban dental students in the context of COVID-19 turned out to be valid and reliable, in
addition to allowing the evaluation of the dimensions of these three factors in this sector of
the society.