Protocol - General Distress Screener
- Disability Due to Mental Health Symptoms
- Disability Index
- Emotional Distress
- General Well-being
- Impairment - Adolescent
- Impairment - Adult
- Physical, Social, and Mental Health Functioning (SF-36V2)
- Quality of Life - Adult
- Quality of Life - Pediatric
- Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction - Adult
- Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction - Children
Description
The K6 is a screening scale consisting of six questions to assess nonspecific psychological distress during the last 30 days. These questions ask about the respondent’s feelings and how these feelings have affected their normal activities and also about whether or not the respondent has sought professional help.
Specific Instructions
None
Availability
This protocol is freely available; permission not required for use.
Protocol
The following questions ask about how you have been feeling during the past 30 days. For each question, please indicate the answer that best describes how often you had this feeling.
1. During the past 30 days, about how often did you feel...
1.a. ...nervous?
1[ ]All of the time
2[ ]Most of the time
3[ ]Some of the time
4[ ]A little of the time
5[ ]None of the time
1.b. ...hopeless?
1[ ]All of the time
2[ ]Most of the time
3[ ]Some of the time
4[ ]A little of the time
5[ ]None of the time
1.c. ...restless or fidgety?
1[ ]All of the time
2[ ]Most of the time
3[ ]Some of the time
4[ ]A little of the time
5[ ]None of the time
1.d. ...so depressed that nothing could cheer you up?
1[ ]All of the time
2[ ]Most of the time
3[ ]Some of the time
4[ ]A little of the time
5[ ]None of the time
1.e. ...that everything was an effort?
1[ ]All of the time
2[ ]Most of the time
3[ ]Some of the time
4[ ]A little of the time
5[ ]None of the time
1.f. ...worthless?
1[ ]All of the time
2[ ]Most of the time
3[ ]Some of the time
4[ ]A little of the time
5[ ]None of the time
2. The last six questions asked about feelings that might have occurred during the past 30 days. Taking them altogether, did these feelings occur More often in the past 30 days than is usual for you, about the same as usual, or less often than usual? (If you never have any of these feelings, circle response option "4.")
1[ ]A lot (More often than usual)
2[ ]Some (More often than usual)
3[ ]A little (More often than usual)
4[ ]About the same as usual
5[ ]A little (Less often than usual)
6[ ]Some (Less often than usual)
7[ ]A lot (Less often than usual)
The next few questions are about how these feelings may have affected you in the past 30 days. You need not answer these questions if you answered "None of the time" to all of the six questions about your feelings.
3. During the past 30 days, how many days out of 30 were you totally unable to work or carry out your normal activities because of these feelings?
_______ (Number of days)
4. Not counting the days you reported in response to 3, how many days in the past 30 were you able to do only half or less of what you would normally have been able to do, because of these feelings?
_______ (Number of days)
5. During the past 30 days, how many times did you see a doctor or other health professional about these feelings?
_______ (Number of times)
6. During the past 30 days, how often have physical health problems been the main cause of these feelings?
1[ ]All of the time
2[ ]Most of the time
3[ ]Some of the time
4[ ]A little of the time
5[ ]None of the time
Scoring
Code question 1.a through 1.f 0-4 and sum to convert the K6 to a 0-24 scale. A cut point of 13 or greater is recommended to assess the prevalence of SMI (serious mental illness). Please see Kessler et al. (2002) for further information on scoring the K6.
Personnel and Training Required
None
Equipment Needs
None
Requirements
| Requirement Category | Required |
|---|---|
| Major equipment | No |
| Specialized training | No |
| Specialized requirements for biospecimen collection | No |
| Average time of greater than 15 minutes in an unaffected individual | No |
Mode of Administration
Self- or proxy-administered questionnaire
Lifestage
Adult
Participants
An individual aged 18 years or older.
Selection Rationale
The K6 was vetted against similar protocols and selected because it is a validated, brief, self-report instrument that is low burden for investigators and respondents. Normative values are available from several large population-based studies of mental and physical disorders.
Language
Chinese, English, Spanish, Other languages available at source
Standards
| Standard | Name | ID | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) | General distress screener proto | 62746-3 | LOINC |
| caDSR Form | PhenX PX121301 - General Distress Screener | 6167793 | caDSR Form |
Derived Variables
None
Process and Review
Expert Review Panel 4 (ERP 4) reviewed the measures in the Neurology, Psychiatric, and Psychosocial domains.
Guidance from ERP 4 included the following:
· No changes
Protocol Name from Source
The K6
Source
Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., Normand, S.-L. T., Walters, E. E., & Zaslavsky, A. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in nonspecific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32(6), 959-976.
General References
Scoring:
Kessler, R. C., Barker, P. R., Colpe, L. J., Epstein, J. F., Gfroerer, J. C., Hiripi, E., Howes, M. J, Normand, S-L. T., Manderscheid, R. W., Walters, E. E., & Zaslavsky, A. M. (2003). Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(2), 184-189.
Definition of General Psychiatric Distress:
Leising, D., Grande, T., & Faber, R. (2009). The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20): A measure of general psychological distress. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(4), 707-710.
Protocol ID
121301
Variables
Export Variables| Variable Name | Variable ID | Variable Description | dbGaP Mapping | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PX121301_Depressed | ||||
| PX121301010400 | During the past 30 days, about how often did more | N/A | ||
| PX121301_Hopeless | ||||
| PX121301010200 | During the past 30 days, about how often did more | N/A | ||
| PX121301_Number_Days_Worked | ||||
| PX121301030000 | During the past 30 days, how many days out more | Variable Mapping | ||
| PX121301_Number_Times_See_Doctor | ||||
| PX121301050000 | During the past 30 days, how many times did more | N/A | ||
| PX121301_Worthless | ||||
| PX121301010600 | During the past 30 days, about how often did more | N/A | ||
Measure Name
General Distress Screener
Release Date
May 12, 2010
Definition
A measure to assess symptoms of nonspecific psychological distress.
Purpose
This measure can be used as a covariate or to control for wide range of mental disorders by measuring an individual’s symptoms of nonspecific psychological distress.
Keywords
Psychiatric, psychological distress, National Health Interview Survey, NHIS
Measure Protocols
| Protocol ID | Protocol Name |
|---|---|
| 121301 | General Distress Screener |