TY - JOUR

T1 - Danish translation and validation of Kessler’s 10-item psychological distress scale–K10

AU - Thelin, Camilla

AU - Mikkelsen, Benjamin

AU - Laier, Gunnar

AU - Turgut, Louise

AU - Henriksen, Bente

AU - Olsen, Lis Raabaek

AU - Larsen, Jens Knud

AU - Arnfred, Sidse

PY - 2017/8/18

Y1 - 2017/8/18

N2 - Background: Psychological distress is a trans-diagnostic feature of mental suffering closely associated with mental disorders. Kessler’s 10-item Psychological Distress Scale (K10), a scale with sound psychometric properties, is widely used in epidemiological studies. Aim: To translate and investigate whether K10 is a reliable and valid rating scale for the measurement of psychological distress in a Danish population. Methods: The translation was carried out according to official WHO translation guidelines. A sample of 100 subjects was included, 54 patients from the regional Mental Health Service (MHS) and 46 subjects with no psychiatric history. All participants were assessed with a psychiatric diagnostic interview (MINI) and handed out K10. Concurrent validity was assessed by WHO Well-being Index (WHO-5). Correlation matrix analysis was conducted for the full sample and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for discriminating mental health service affiliation. Results: Mean K10 scores differed, with decreasing levels, between inpatients and outpatient in MHS and the subjects with no psychiatric history. Factor analysis confirmed a unidimensional structure, and Cronbach’s alpha and Omega showed excellent internal reliability. AUC for the K10 ROC curves showed excellent sensitivity (0.947 [0.900–0.995]), accurately differentiating mental health from non-mental health patients. Conclusion: The Danish K10 has the same strong internal reliability as the original English version, and scores differ between psychiatric patients in outpatient and emergency ward settings. Clinical implications: The Danish K10 translation is authorized and freely available for download at https://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/k6_scales.php. The utility as an instrument for clinical screening in a mental healthcare setting is supported.

AB - Background: Psychological distress is a trans-diagnostic feature of mental suffering closely associated with mental disorders. Kessler’s 10-item Psychological Distress Scale (K10), a scale with sound psychometric properties, is widely used in epidemiological studies. Aim: To translate and investigate whether K10 is a reliable and valid rating scale for the measurement of psychological distress in a Danish population. Methods: The translation was carried out according to official WHO translation guidelines. A sample of 100 subjects was included, 54 patients from the regional Mental Health Service (MHS) and 46 subjects with no psychiatric history. All participants were assessed with a psychiatric diagnostic interview (MINI) and handed out K10. Concurrent validity was assessed by WHO Well-being Index (WHO-5). Correlation matrix analysis was conducted for the full sample and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for discriminating mental health service affiliation. Results: Mean K10 scores differed, with decreasing levels, between inpatients and outpatient in MHS and the subjects with no psychiatric history. Factor analysis confirmed a unidimensional structure, and Cronbach’s alpha and Omega showed excellent internal reliability. AUC for the K10 ROC curves showed excellent sensitivity (0.947 [0.900–0.995]), accurately differentiating mental health from non-mental health patients. Conclusion: The Danish K10 has the same strong internal reliability as the original English version, and scores differ between psychiatric patients in outpatient and emergency ward settings. Clinical implications: The Danish K10 translation is authorized and freely available for download at https://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/k6_scales.php. The utility as an instrument for clinical screening in a mental healthcare setting is supported.

KW - epidemiology

KW - mental health

KW - screening

KW - Self-rating

U2 - 10.1080/08039488.2017.1312517

DO - 10.1080/08039488.2017.1312517

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 28417648

AN - SCOPUS:85017580128

VL - 71

SP - 411

EP - 416

JO - Nordisk Psykiatrisk Tidsskrift

JF - Nordisk Psykiatrisk Tidsskrift

SN - 0803-9496

IS - 6

ER -