Validity Study of Kessler’s Psychological Distress Scales Conducted Among Patients Admitted to French Emergency Department for Alcohol Consumption–Related Disorders

Abstract

This study confirms the good psychometric characteristics of Kessler's psychological distress scale. Even though similar performances were observed for K6/10, the brevity of the K6 makes it more suitable for use in EDs.

The Effectiveness of Psychoeducation and Systematic Desensitization to Reduce Test Anxiety Among First-year Pharmacy Students

“…This tool has been widely used by researchers to measure psychological distress. 35,36 The alpha reliability is 0.95, 36 and the alpha reliability of the scale in this study was 0.92. Finally, the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS was used to measure intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation.…”

Serious Psychological Distress and Diabetes: A Review of the Literature

“…The K6 scale has been validated in at least 14 countries worldwide, with area under the receiver operating curve having a median of 0.83 (range, 0.76-0.89) [53]. The scales have been evaluated for predicting SPD in individuals with alcohol-related disorders in emergency departments in France, with the K6 having a sensitivity of 0.92 and specificity of 0.62, and the K10 having a sensitivity of 0.95 and specificity of 0.54 [54].…”

Psychological Distress and Drug Use Patterns of Young Adult Ecstasy Users: A Complementary Analysis of Australian Datasets

“…The HADS comprises subscales for anxiety and depression and the total scale provides a valid and reliable screen for PD (Cronbach's alpha of 0.88-0.89; Costantini et al, 1999;Herrmann, 1997 & Brouwer, 2013;Costantini et al, 1999). Furthermore, previous research indicates that the K10 and the HADS are comparable measures of PD in drug users and other populations (Arnaud et al, 2010;Dunbar et al, 2008). In a study measuring PD in a population at risk of alcohol use disorders (Arnaud et al, 2010), the K10 and the HADS were highly correlated (r = 0.71), and their convergent validity compares well to other instruments used to screen for PD (Kessler et al, 2003).…”

“…Furthermore, previous research indicates that the K10 and the HADS are comparable measures of PD in drug users and other populations (Arnaud et al, 2010;Dunbar et al, 2008). In a study measuring PD in a population at risk of alcohol use disorders (Arnaud et al, 2010), the K10 and the HADS were highly correlated (r = 0.71), and their convergent validity compares well to other instruments used to screen for PD (Kessler et al, 2003). Because our study is concerned with clinically relevant symptoms, we selected cut-offs for the K10 and the HADS that are indicative of high levels of distress.…”