The DOI matches its Crossref record; 5 of the 6 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Interpreting scores on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To provide normative data on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), a scale that is being increasingly used for clinical and epidemiological purposes. METHOD: The National Survey of Mental Health And Well-Being was used to provide normative comparative data on symptoms, disability, service utilisation and diagnosis for the range of possible K10 scores. RESULTS: The K10 is related in predictable ways to these other measures. IMPLICATIONS: The K10 is suitable to assess morbidity in the population, and may be appropriate for use in clinical practice.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Using this sum it is possible to identify cut-off points of stress levels, where 10–15 points correspond to “low distress,” 16–21 points to “moderate,” 22–29 points to “high,” and 30–50 points to “very high.” Values between 22 and 50 points indicate a risk of developing a psychological disorder (Andrews and Slade, 2001; Pereira et al., 2019).”
From Burnout and Stress Measurement in Police Officers: Literature Review and a Study With the Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (2020) · cites this paper as Andrews and Slade, 2001
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Overall, it is a valid and reliable measure21 and an efficient way to ensure that study participants were likely to be experiencing some level of anxiety or depressive symptoms prior to entering the study.”
From Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of Acceptance Commitment Therapy for Adults Living With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Distress. (2024) · cites this paper as [21]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The K10 is a 10-item measure of psychological distress that is sensitive to symptoms of both anxiety and depression [30].”
From Feasibility and Acceptability of the Aboriginal and Islander Mental Health Initiative for Youth App: Nonrandomized Pilot With First Nations Young People (2023) · cites this paper as [30]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Several Australian studies using national survey data support the psychometric properties of the K10 including its validity as a measure of distress and as screen for mental health disorders, particularly anxiety and depressive conditions (1, 42, 43).”
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The K-10 has excellent psychometric properties (Andrews and Slade, 2001), including high internal consistency (α = 0.93; Kessler et al., 2002) and discriminant validity (Furukawa et al., 2003).”
From Online mindfulness-enhanced cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety and depression: Outcomes of a pilot trial (2018) · cites this paper as Andrews and Slade, 2001
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The K-10 has good psychometric properties [18], demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity for current anxiety and affective disorders [19].”
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Psychological distress was measured in the MCQ questionnaire using the 10-item Kessler (K10) scale [59,60].”
The check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“Despite fears that focusing on suicidal ideation might give rise to further suicidal thoughts and even attempts, there is no evidence to validate this idea [15,28].”
From The effectiveness of a suicide prevention app for indigenous Australian youths: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. (2013) · cites this paper as [15]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“Emerging evidence suggests that online intervention to prevent suicide is feasible and effective [14,15].”
From The effectiveness of a suicide prevention app for indigenous Australian youths: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. (2013) · cites this paper as [15]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
WARE, J. E., KOSINSKI, M., & KELLER, S. D. (1996) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/00005650-199603000-00003 · Cited by 17,392
The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire
Levy, R. (1973) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(73)90039-1 · Cited by 2,707
The burden of disease and injury in Australia 2003
Begg, S. J., Vos, T., Barker, B. M., Stevenson, C., Stanley, L., & López, A. D. (2007) · Deakin Research Online (Deakin University) · Cited by 1,285
Andrews, G., Henderson, S., & Hall, W. (2001) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.178.2.145 · Cited by 933 · cited 1×
“The K10 scale was a part of the National Survey of Mental Health and Well Being conducted in Australia in 1997.(1) This was a stratified household survey of a population sample of persons 18 years and older.”
MethodSelf-citationThe burden of disease and injury in Australia
Mathers, C. D., Vos, T., & Stevenson, C. (2000) · Australian Health Review · doi:10.1071/ah000216 · Cited by 745
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 1,001–1,006 of 1,006
Keyan, D., Habashneh, R., Akhtar, A., El-Dardery, H., Faroun, M., Abualhaija, A., Aqel, I. S., Dardas, L. A., & Bryant, R. (2024) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078091 · Cited by 10
Rom, S., Miskovic‐Wheatley, J., Barakat, S., Aouad, P., Fuller‐Tyszkiewicz, M., & Maguire, S. (2022) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.23803 · Cited by 8
Winefield, H. R., Turnbull, D. A., Seiboth, C., & Taplin, J. E. (2007) · Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1111/j.1467-842x.2007.00059.x · Cited by 7
Rom, S., Miskovic-Wheatley, J., Barakat, S., Aouad, P., Kim, M., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., & Maguire, S. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1229261 · Cited by 7
Wilkin, K., Evans, S., Van Niekerk, L., Romano, D., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Knowles, S., Chesterman, S., Raven, L., & Mikocka-Walus, A. (2024) · Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings · doi:10.1007/s10880-023-09999-5 · Cited by 5
“Exclusion criteria included severe levels of psychological distress (scores of 30–50 on K10) or no psychological distress (scores of less than 16 on the K10), consistent with guidelines on K10 cut-scores (Andrews & Slade, 2001).”
Teasdale, S. B., Dixon, C., Ball, J. S., Bradbury, N. A., Gaskin, C. I. T., Curtis, J., & Mohan, A. (2024) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.13531 · Cited by 4
“There were also no significant changes (pre to post) for the SDQ and K10.”
Influential
Metadata
- Authors
- Andrews, G., & Slade, T.
- Affiliations
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Andrews, Gavin
- Venue
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2001-12
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 494-497
- ISSN
- 1326-0200 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2025961724
- Cited by
- 2,021
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 75 · 2025: 129 · 2024: 163 · 2023: 151 · 2022: 157 · 2021: 161 · 2020: 152 · 2019: 114 · 2018: 84 · 2017: 81 · 2016: 90 · 2015: 81 · 2014: 82 · 2013: 114 · 2012: 89
- FWCI
- 12.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Keywords
- Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, K10, psychological distress, reference values, psychiatric symptoms, disability, mental health service utilization, psychiatric diagnosis, population morbidity
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Australia, Mental Disorders, Family Characteristics, Health Surveys, Humans, Mental Health Services, Middle Aged, Psychological Tests, Psychometrics, Stress, Psychological, Prevalence
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
