Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS)

About the DAS

The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), developed by Spanier (1976), is one of the most widely used self-report measures of relationship quality. It contains 32 items across four subscales and is used in both clinical screening and research. Cronbach's α is approximately 0.96.

The Four Subscales

Dyadic Consensus (13 items, max 65): agreement on important matters. Dyadic Satisfaction (10 items, max 50): satisfaction and commitment. Dyadic Cohesion (5 items, max 24): closeness and shared activities. Affectional Expression (4 items, max 12): agreement on affection and sex. Total ranges 0–151.

Interpreting Your Results

Total scores below 101 typically indicate relationship distress. Scores of 102 or above typically indicate a non-distressed relationship. Married samples average ~114.8; divorced samples average ~70.7.

Look at your lowest subscale — that may be the area to focus on for improvement. No single score defines a relationship; this is for self-reflection, not diagnosis.

References

• Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38(1), 15-28. 10.2307/350547
• Spanier, G. B., & Thompson, L. (1982). A confirmatory analysis of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44(4), 731–738.
• UW-Madison ARC Lab — DAS scoring reference: https://arc.psych.wisc.edu/self-report/dyadic-adjustment-scale-das/
• DAS questionnaire PDF (open access): https://github.com/jjcurtin/arc_measures/raw/main/DAS/DAS.pdf