Investigating the Factor Structure of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale in Community and Clinical Samples of the Australian Population

Sunderland, Matthew; Mahoney, Alison; Andrews, Gavin

doi:10.1007/s10862-012-9276-7

Cited by 66 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The internal reliability of the K10 for the present data set was excellent (Cronbach's  = 0.90). While a small number of studies advocate for K10 subscales for depression and anxiety (e.g., Brooks, Beard, & Steel, 2006), more recent population research indicates no empirical basis for a 2-factor structure (Peiper, Clayton, Wilson, & Illback, 2014;Sunderland, Mahoney, & Andrews, 2012). For descriptive purposes, cutoff scores for psychological distress were defined as low risk (sum score of 10-15), medium risk (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) and high risk (30-50) (Furukawa, Kessler, Slade, & Andrews, 2003).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between psychological distress and adolescent polydrug use.

Kelly

Chan

Mason

et al. 2015

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

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Polydrug use is relatively common among adolescents. Psychological distress is associated with the use of specific drugs, and may be uniquely associated with polydrug use. The purpose of this study was to test the association of psychological distress with polydrug use using a large adolescent sample. The sample consisted of 10,273 students aged 12-17 years from the State of Victoria, Australia. Participants completed frequency measures of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, inhalant, and other drug use in the past 30 days, and psychological distress. Control variables included age, gender, family socioeconomic status, school suspensions, academic failure, cultural background, and peer drug use. Drug-use classes were derived using latent-class analysis, then the association of psychological distress and controls with drug-use classes was modeled using multinomial ordinal regression. There were 3 distinct classes of drug use: no drug use (47.7%), mainly alcohol use (44.1%), and polydrug use (8.2%). Independent of all controls, psychological distress was higher in polydrug users and alcohol users, relative to nondrug users, and polydrug users reported more psychological distress than alcohol users. Psychological distress was most characteristic of polydrug users, and targeted prevention outcomes may be enhanced by a collateral focus on polydrug use and depression and/or anxiety.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between psychological distress and adolescent polydrug use.

Kelly

Chan

Mason

et al. 2015

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

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“…The SDS (Gossop, Best, Marsden, & Strang, 1997) and has demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties (George, Kinner, Bruno, Degenhardt, & Dunn, 2010;Hides et al, 2007;Sunderland, Mahoney, & Andrews, 2012).…”

Section: Clinical Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is Sensitive to Head Injury and Cognitive Impairment in a Residential Alcohol and Other Drug Therapeutic Community

Marceau

Lunn²,

Berry

et al. 2016

Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment

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The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is sensitive to head injury and cognitive impairment in a residential alcohol and other drug therapeutic community AbstractIntroduction: Retaining clients in residential alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment is difficult and cognitive impairment has been identified as a significant predictor of treatment dropout. The application of extensive screening for cognitive impairment is cost-prohibitive for most AOD treatment services. The current study aimed to explore cognitive functioning and impairment-associated factors in a typical sample of residential AOD clients using a free brief screening tool that could be utilised by front-line AOD services. Methods: Residents of an AOD therapeutic community (n = 128) and a non-substance using control group (n = 37) were administered a brief cognitive screening measure, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). MoCA total and domain scores were compared between these groups and within the AOD group examined in association with primary substance of misuse, severity of dependence, gender, psychological distress, and history of head injury. Results: Almost half (43.8%) of the AOD sample were identified as cognitively impaired, compared to 16.2% of the control group. Furthermore, 67.2% of the AOD sample had sustained head injuries and 50% of the sample required hospitalization for head injury. History of head injury was a significant determinant of cognitive impairment, and associated with greater levels of psychological distress. Conclusions: There are high rates of inter-related cognitive impairment, head injuries, and psychological distress among clients in residential AOD treatment. Routine screening of clients at intake for cognitive impairment by means of a brief screening measure such as the MoCA, in combination with the assessment of history of head injuries and comorbid psychological disorders, could inform treatment modifications or adjunct interventions to increase retention and improve long-term outcomes. Abstract IntroductionRetaining clients in residential alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment is difficult and cognitive impairment has been identified as a significant predictor of treatment dropout. The application of extensive screening for cognitive impairment is cost-prohibitive for most AOD treatment services. The current study aimed to explore cognitive functioning and impairmentassociated factors in a typical sample of residential AOD clients using a free brief screening tool that could be utilised by front-line AOD services. Methods Residents of an AOD therapeutic community (n = 128) and a non-substance using control group (n = 37) were administered a brief cognitive screening measure, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). MoCA total and domain scores were compared between these groups and within the AOD group examined in association with primary substance of misuse, severity of dependence, gender, psychological distress, and history of head injury. Results Almost half (43.8%) of the AOD sample were identified ...

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“…Model B (a one-factor model with correlated errors between KIO items "depressed" and "so depressed," "restless" and "so restless," and "nervous" and "so nervous," as a means to take into account the automatic skip instmctions that contribute to common variance between these items not explained by the latent factor [Sunderland, Mahoney, & Andrews, 2012]), Model C (a two-factor model with all DSM-IV disorders loading on one factor [disorder] and all KIO items loading on another [distress]). Model D (a two-factor model taking into account the common variance between related KIO items), and Model E (a two-factor model with factor covariances fixed to 0).…”

Section: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related differences in internalizing psychopathology amongst the Australian general population.

Sunderland¹,

Slade²,

Carragher³

et al. 2013

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

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Two methodological criticisms have limited the reliability and validity of findings from previous studies that seek to examine change across the life span in levels of internalizing psychopathology using general population surveys. The first criticism involves the potential influence of cohort effects that confound true age-related changes whereas the second criticism involves the use of a single form of assessment to measure and compare levels of internalizing psychopathology. This study seeks to address these criticisms by modeling age-related change using multiple measures and multiple surveys. Data from 2 epidemiological surveys conducted 10 years apart in the Australian general population were combined and used for the current study. The latent construct of internalizing psychopathology was modeled using a combination of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) depression and anxiety diagnoses as well as items from the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10; Kessler et al., 2002). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that a single internalizing dimension provided good model fit to the data. Multigroup CFA indicated that strict measurement invariance of the model can be assumed across survey administrations and age bands, justifying comparisons of mean differences in latent trait levels. Significant changes in mean levels of latent internalizing psychopathology were evident between respondents aged 30-39 years old in 1997 and respondents aged 40-49 years old in 2007, suggesting a minor but significant increase in psychopathology across middle age. By contrast, a minor but significant decrease in psychopathology was noted when transitioning from late middle age (50-59 years old) to old age (60-69 years old). The majority of individuals in the general population will experience constant levels of internalizing psychopathology as they age, suggesting that the construct is relatively stable.

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Investigating the Factor Structure of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale in Community and Clinical Samples of the Australian Population

Cited by 66 publications

References 29 publications

The relationship between psychological distress and adolescent polydrug use.

The relationship between psychological distress and adolescent polydrug use.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is Sensitive to Head Injury and Cognitive Impairment in a Residential Alcohol and Other Drug Therapeutic Community

Age-related differences in internalizing psychopathology amongst the Australian general population.

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