Introduction:
Sadness, feeling down, and having a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities are familiar feelings for all of us. But if they persist and affect our lives substantially, the issue may be depression.Depression is the main cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health organization (WHO). It can affect adults, adolescents, and children.
Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion. However, when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, it might become a medical disorder. Anxiety disorders form a category of mental health diagnoses that lead to excessive nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worry
Everyone experiences stress and anxiety at one time or another. The difference between them is that stress is a response to a threat in a situation. Anxiety is a reaction to stress.Anxiety is more than the occasional or daily stress. It is one of the most distressing emotions people experience and usually develops when a combination of risk factors occurs and triggers an emotional overload. The most common anxiety is “general anxiety,” and it can often lead to an anxiety disorder. It includes periods of nervousness or fear that can happen during difficult moments. Anxiety becomes a serious problem when it is persistent and interferes with your daily life, affecting your behavior, thoughts, feelings and physical sensations.
Almost everyone feels sad or depressed at times, but clinical depression is stronger and lasts longer. When sadness is accompanied by the inability to cope with everyday life, it may indicate depression. When depressive symptoms are severe over an extended period of time, every aspect of a person’s life can be affected, including physical health, relationships, and work.
There is no single cause of depression, but a combination of factors or situations can increase the risk. Typical contributing causes to depression include unfortunate life events, illness, a chemical imbalance in the brain, genetics, certain medications and drug or alcohol abuse.
Stress has a terrible reputation, but it’s not always bad for you. In fact, it’s essential for survival. Being nervous before an important meeting or having sweaty palms at the top of the ski hill are the kinds of normal human responses created in response to stress, and they can help to motivate and heighten awareness. But exposure to too much stress for too long has a very damaging effect on your heart and overall health.
Test Description:
ADSS was developed by Pallavi Bhatnagar and her colleagues and published through National Psychological Corporation, Agra, India. It is the test that measures the anxiety, depression and stress of an individual besides being bilingual, and which is comprehensible for the illiterate and marginalized group. A scale of 63 were developed at first and 48 items out of 63 were retained in the item selection. Standardization of the scale was undertaken in a project by SWASTI Society for Mental Health and Counseling wherein part of the data collection (that of students and psychiatric patients) was also done. The test comprises a consumable book of ADSS questionnaire which has 48 items, (19 in Anxiety Subscale, 15 in Depression Subscale, and 14 in Stress Subscale) and manual for ADSS. The Manual describes the introduction of the test and contains description about the development of the scale, item selection, standardization, description of the scale, administration and instructions of the scale, scoring and interpretation of the scoring, tables, reliability and implications
Each item is scored 1 if endorsed ‘Yes’ and 0 if endorsed ‘No’ . Higher score indicates experiencing greater anxiety, depression and stress and vice-versa. The table below shows that according to the cutoff point, the individual is assigned to the levels of the state ranging from normal to severe.
| Percentiles | Sub Scale | Interpretation | ||
| Anxiety | Depression | Stress | ||
| Below P25 P25-P50 P50-P75 P75-P100 | 0-3 3-5 5-9 Above 9 | 0-2 2-4 4-9 Above 9 | 0-4 4-6 6-9 Above 9 | Normal Mild Moderate Severe |
Table: Interpretation in terms of cut-off points
Purpose:
To find the anxiety, depression and stress level of the subject using ADSS assessment.
Equipment/Material Used
i) ADSS-BSPSA Consumable booklet
ii) Manual for ADSS
iii) Pen/pencil/paper, eraser
Introduction to the subject:
Name: abc ( Name not disclosed)
Age: 43
Religion: Hindu
Gender: Female
Marital status: Married
Occupation: Teacher
Education : Bachelors
Date of the Test: December 09, 2019, 10:00 AM
Place: Kumarigal
Test Administration:
Procedure:
Subject was instructed before taking the test as per manual. The subject was informed about the test, its relevance and consumable booklet of ADSS was presented to her. The subject was again explained the procedure to approach the test. The Subject’s consent was requested and assured that the data obtained will remain confidential.
Testing:
The test was conducted in a meeting room. The subject was comfortable answering Yes to Question but in some of the questions she felt that some might be different as per the mood and scenario I am facing so was hesitant to answer either Yes or No to these questions so was questioning if she could leave it blank.
Introspection:
After the testing was completed the subject was asked to share her experience. She replied, “Overall the questions were quite simple so I believe I gave my honest answer without any distraction. As I said earlier the answer I am giving might change but they are the ones I believe are most honest on the present ground and some responses might change. So, that’s all and When can I get my result or interpretation”.
Release:
The subject was excited about the result the instant she finished the assessment. The subject was released then with thanks and will receive the scoring later on.
Result and Analysis/Interpretation
Obtained Score:
| Sub-scale | Total Score | Percentile | Interpretation |
| Anxiety Depression Stress | 200 | Below P25Below P25Below P25 | NormalNormalNormal |
Table: Obtained Score ADSS assessment
The result has been analysed on the basis of ADSS manual. The subject has scored 0 in both the sub-scales i.e. ‘Stress’ and ‘Depression’. Following the manual, the score 0 for both the sub-scales falls under percentile below 25 interpreting her in the normal category for both stress and depression subscales. Similarly, the subject has scored 2 in ‘Anxiety’ subscale which falls under percentile below 25 with the range 0-3. This means that the subject has no sign of anxiety, depression and stress.
Note: The interpretation of the score is as per the ADSS manual
Impression:
The subjects score on all of the three factors i.e. Anxiety, Depression and Stress all fall under normal range. So the subject seems to be free from risk of all these factors and seems to be stress free in the present context.
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