Unlike some clinical tools, the DASS is in the public domain, making it a "gold standard" for researchers globally who need a reliable, cost-free metric for emotional distress. Performance and Reliability
: This scale focuses on the physiological and cognitive aspects of anxiety. It measures autonomic arousal (e.g., dry mouth, sweating), skeletal muscle effects (e.g., shakiness), situational anxiety, and the subjective experience of anxious affect . Example items include, "I was aware of the dryness of my mouth," "I experienced breathing difficulty," and "I had a feeling of shakiness (e.g., legs going to give way)". DASS-243