Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10)

Full name of scale

Kessler Psychological Distress Scale

Languages

English, French, other languages.

 

Rater

Patient-rated

Utility

It is used to assess psychological distress

Versions

  • K6; 6-item measure
  • K10; 10-item measure

Time to complete

No information found

Cost/license

Use of the K6/K10 is free and does not require any formal permission or approval. Researchers are asked to cite the below article and include the World Health Organization copyright when using the K6/K10.

 

Kessler, R.C., Barker, P.R., Colpe, L.J., Epstein, J.F., Gfroerer, J.C., Hiripi, E., Howes, M.J, Normand, S-L.T., Manderscheid, R.W., Walters, E.E., Zaslavsky, A.M. (2003). Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry. 60(2), 184-189.

 

Copyright © World Health Organization 2003

Other Information

  • The instrument can be self-administered or interviewer-administrated
  • The K10 is in the Australian and Canadian equivalents of the NHIS
  • The K10 has been used in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. WMH includes surveys of nearly 250,000 people in 30 countries throughout the wo

Kessler, R. C., Barker, P. R., Colpe, L. J., Epstein, J. F., Gfroerer, J. C., Hiripi, E., … Walters, E. E. (2003). Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(2), 184–189. Follow this link for the article.

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