Kessler Psychological Distress Scale: Normative Data from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing

Objective: To present Australian normative data on the ten-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Method: Analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, a nationally representative household survey of 8841 adults. Mean K10 scores a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry 2011-04, Vol.45 (4), p.308-316
Main Authors: Slade, Tim, Grove, Rachel, Burgess, Philip
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Australia
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Health Status
Health Surveys - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Middle Aged
Predictive Value of Tests
Prevalence
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reference Values
Severity of Illness Index
Sex Factors
Techniques and methods
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: To present Australian normative data on the ten-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Method: Analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, a nationally representative household survey of 8841 adults. Mean K10 scores and K10 scores at selected percentiles of the K10 score distribution are presented by sex, age, the presence of mental disorders and the presence of physical conditions. Stratum-specific likelihood ratios were computed to help clinicians and researchers calculate predicted probabilities of mental disorder given scores on the K10. Results: Scores on the K10 were generally higher in women compared to men, in people with a mental disorder compared to without a mental disorder and in people with affective disorders compared to people with substance use disorders. The SSLRs were informative in ruling in a diagnosis of mental disorder, particularly at the high or very high end of the psychological distress spectrum. Conclusions: These data may be helpful for clinicians and researchers alike in understanding the likelihood of mental disorder in a given individual or sample.
ISSN:0004-8674
1440-1614
DOI:10.3109/00048674.2010.543653