The Psychometric Properties of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) in an Epidemiological Sample of Canadian Youth
Open accessAbstract
Objective: This study (1) describes the distribution of Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) scores in an epidemiological sample of youth, (2) reports its item correlations and internal consistency reliability, (3) tests for measurement invariance by age (youth vs. adults) and sex, and (4) examines its predictive power for past-year psychiatric disorders. Method: Youth aged 15 to 19 years ( n = 2010) and adults aged 20 to 64 years ( n = 2010) from the Canadian Community Health Survey–Mental Health who completed the K6 were included. Past-year psychiatric disorders were measured using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 (WHO-CIDI). Polychoric correlation matrices and ordinal reliability coefficients were calculated to assess internal consistency of the K6, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to test for measurement invariance. Area under the curves (AUCs) were computed to determine the extent to which the K6 predicted a positive screen on the WHO-CIDI. Results: K6 scores showed a J-shaped distribution, with >50% of youth having scores ≤3. Item and total scores were higher for females versus males. Item correlations were robust (0.31-0.78) and internal consistency was high (α = 0.86). Full measurement invariance was demonstrated between youth and adults, as well as between male and female youth. The K6 was a strong predictor of major depressive episode (AUC = 0.848), generalized anxiety disorder (AUC = 0.847), and bipolar disorder (AUC = 0.853). Conclusions: The K6 is a valid and reliable measure of psychological distress among youth. Its brevity and robust predictive power for psychiatric disorder confirm its utility in clinical and community settings to identify youth needing comprehensive psychiatric assessment.
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K6/10 surrogate biomarkers have no available data on association with bipolar disorder.
“Surrogate biomarkers : K6/10 (data not available) 163 *”
From Preventive psychiatry: a blueprint for improving the mental health of young people (2021) · cites this paper as [163]
K6/10 surrogate biomarkers have no available data on association with depression/anxiety disorders.
“Surrogate biomarkers : K6/10 (data not available) 163 *”
From Preventive psychiatry: a blueprint for improving the mental health of young people (2021) · cites this paper as [163]
Screening for depressive/anxiety experiences has no available data on efficacy for preventing depression/anxiety disorders.
“Screening for depressive/anxiety experiences (data not available) 163 *”
From Preventive psychiatry: a blueprint for improving the mental health of young people (2021) · cites this paper as [163]
Screening for bipolar experiences has no available data on efficacy for preventing bipolar disorder.
“Screening for bipolar experiences (data not available) 163 *”
From Preventive psychiatry: a blueprint for improving the mental health of young people (2021) · cites this paper as [163]
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- Authors
- Ferro, M. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Waterloo (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Ferro, Mark A.
- ORCID
- Ferro, Mark A.
- Venue
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-01-02
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 647-657
- ISSN
- 0706-7437 (ISSN-L)
- 1497-0015
- PMC
- PMC6699029
- OpenAlex
- W2908478715
- Cited by
- 104
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 7.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, psychological distress, youth, measurement invariance, internal consistency, major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, sex differences, age differences
- MeSH terms
- Psychological Distress, Adolescent, Adult, Mental Disorders, Canada, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychometrics, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult
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