PakMed Psych 72 is a psychological/psychiatric software developed in/for Microsoft Office Access and is based on the DASS (by Lovibond and Lovibond) that is a set of three self-report scales designed to measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. Write Dr Murad Khan at info@pakmed.net for details. The DASS may be administered either in groups or individually for research purposes. The DASS was constructed not merely as another set of scales to measure conventionally defined emotional states, but to further the process of defining, understanding, and measuring the ubiquitous and clinically significant emotional states usually described as depression, anxiety and stress. The DASS should thus meet the requirements of both researchers and scientist-professional clinicians. Each of the three DASS scales contains 14 items, divided into subscales of 2-5 items with similar content. The Depression scale assesses dysphoria, hopelessness, devaluation of life, self-deprecation, lack of interest/involvement, anhedonia, and inertia. The Anxiety scale assesses autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects, situational anxiety, and subjective experience of anxious affect. The Stress scale is sensitive to levels of chronic non-specific arousal. It assesses difficulty relaxing, nervous arousal, and being easily upset/agitated, irritable/over-reactive and impatient. Subjects are asked to use 4-point severity/frequency scales to rate the extent to which they have experienced each state over the past week. Scores for Depression, Anxiety and Stress are calculated by summing the scores for the relevant items. IT IS AN EASY TO USE TOOL FOR RESEARCHERS AND FOR PRACTICING PSYCHIATRISTS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS.
