The psychometric properties of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) in a general population sample of adolescents.

Abstract

The 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6; Kessler et al., 2002) is a screener for psychological distress that has robust psychometric properties among adults. Given that a significant proportion of adolescents experience mental illness, there is a need for measures that accurately and reliably screen for mental disorders in this age group. This study examined the psychometric properties of the K6 in a large general population sample of adolescents (N = 4,434; mean age = 13.5 years; 44.6% male). Factor analyses were conducted to examine the dimensionality of the K6 in adolescents and to investigate sex-based measurement invariance. This study also evaluated the K6 as a predictor of scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). The K6 demonstrated high levels of internal consistency, with the 6 items loading primarily on 1 factor. Consistent with previous research, females reported higher mean levels of psychological distress when compared with males. The identification of sex-based measurement noninvariance in the item thresholds indicated that these mean differences most likely represented reporting bias in the K6 items rather than true differences in the underlying psychological distress construct. The K6 was a fair to good predictor of abnormal scores on the SDQ, but predictive utility was relatively low among males. Future research needs to focus on refining and augmenting the K6 scale to maximize its utility in adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record

A Mokken Scale Analysis of the Kessler-6 Screening Measure among Chinese Older Population: Findings from a national survey

“…The one-factor solution (with all items loading on a single factor) is also supported in most of the current studies [6,8,11,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Nevertheless, this model had a poor t with the data from a large sample of adolescents in Australia, and a modi ed single-factor model was proposed instead [21], allowing residual correlations among several items. Moreover, two-factor models were also reported in several studies [6,7,22,23].…”

“…Traditionally, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and con rmatory factor analysis (CFA) are used in examining the factor structure of the K6 [11,21]. Mokken scale analysis (MSA) has demonstrated its unique value in addressing the problem of dimensionality [24][25][26].…”

A systematic review of combined student‐ and parent‐based programs to prevent alcohol and other drug use among adolescents

“…Future trials that integrate parent‐based components within existing meetings at school, such as in the effective combined Prevention of Alcohol Use in Students intervention , or that utilise online delivery methods, have the potential to reduce barriers to uptake among parents. At present, there is no combined model for students and parents that adopts an online approach to AOD prevention despite the existence of numerous effective online AOD prevention programs for students . Integrating online evidence‐based parent components with existing evidence‐based student interventions has the potential to improve prevention outcomes as well as ease of access, quality of implementation, scalability and sustainability.…”

Potential psychosocial influences on gender differences in physical activity among Qatari adolescents: a first insight through descriptive observation

“…Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6-item scale measuring non-specific psychological distress over the last 30 days (Kessler, Barker, & Colpe, 2003). The scale has been previously validated as screening tool in adolescence (Mewton et al, 2015;Mui Chan & Tong Fung, 2013), as well as Arabic-speaking population (Easton, Safadi, Wang, & Hasson, 2017).…”