Kessler Psychological Distress Scale
The K10 is a 10-item self-report of nonspecific psychological distress. This page is for clinics. It is not a diagnosis of any named disorder.
Overview
What is the K10?
The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale asks about tiredness, nervousness, hopelessness, and related experiences over the last four weeks. It is a population and clinical distress screen, not a disorder-specific interview.
Development and clinical use
Kessler and colleagues developed K10 and K6 for large health surveys. Many health systems later adopted K10 in routine care. Banding rules can differ by jurisdiction.
- Items
- 10 self-report
- Reference period
- Last four weeks
- Construct
- Nonspecific distress
- Shorter relative
- K6
- Clinical role
- Screening support
- Diagnosis
- Not established by score
Administration
A focused client experience
Adults rate ten items about the last four weeks. Results support review of overall distress. They do not replace PHQ-9, GAD-7, or a diagnostic assessment when those questions are the ones being asked.
- One question at a time with visible progress
- Large keyboard-operable response choices
- Previous, next, and answer-review steps
- Clear confirmation that results go to the clinic
The illustration does not reproduce K10 items.
Report showcase
Designed to make evidence easy to review
The downloadable synthetic example illustrates report layout using invented response patterns, without patient data or instrument questions.
- Named instrument, version, and provenance
- Item-level response pattern without source wording
- Methodology, references, and clinical boundary
- Responsible clinician review rather than automated conclusions
Clinician review required
Methodology
Understand the measure and its scoring conventions
Each item scores 1 to 5, and the ten items sum to 10-50. Levels follow Andrews and Slade (2001): Low (10-15), Moderate (16-21), High (22-29) and Very high (30-50). There is no single cut-off.
References
- K10 methodsKessler RC et al. Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003;60(2):184-189.
- K10 levels of distressAndrews G, Slade T. Interpreting scores on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Aust N Z J Public Health. 2001;25(6):494-497.
Questions
What clinics ask before they evaluate the K10
These answers stay inside educational catalogue scope. They do not replace official manuals or clinician judgement.
Is K10 a depression test?
No. It measures nonspecific distress. Depression-specific questions need a different instrument and clinical review.
Are K10 bands the same everywhere?
No. Check the jurisdiction and purpose rather than copying a band from another service.
Can I complete K10 here?
No. This landing does not collect answers.
K10 or CORE-10?
They are different distress/outcome instruments. The clinician chooses based on the clinical question.