Mahalanobis distance

[Nin]

Hi all,
In the table of critical values for Mahalanobis distance, there is "number of variables" and "critical value". My question is, does "number of variables" refer to number of IVs/ predictors or does it refer to ALL variables in the analysis, ie all IVs and DVs?

For example:
DV: happiness
IVs: age, job satisfaction

Mahalanobis distance: there are 2 IVs, so critical value for Mahalanobis distance critical would be 13.8???
OR ALTERNATIVELY, there are 3 variables (1 dv and 2 iv's) in the analysis, therefore the critical value for Mahalanobis distance is 16.3?????

[Ghada]

it relate to the number of predictors