The following ten questions ask about how you have been feeling in the last four weeks. For each question, mark the option that best describes the amount of time you felt that way.
Report details · optional
Shown on the report and stored with the screening record. Use initials or a code, not full names.
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About this screener — evidence, source, alternatives
Ten items asking how often in the last four weeks the person felt tired out, nervous, hopeless, restless, depressed, that everything was an effort, sad, or worthless. Each is scored 1 (none of the time) to 5 (all of the time), giving a total of 10–50. Used in population surveys and in Australian primary care and mental-health services as a screen and outcome measure.
Evidence · validated
Developed with item-response methods for the US National Health Interview Survey (Kessler et al., 2002). In a clinical validation sample the K10 predicted serious mental illness with an area under the ROC curve of 0.854 (Kessler et al., Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003;60:184–189). Australian normative data relating scores to diagnosis, disability and service use are given by Andrews & Slade (Aust N Z J Public Health 2001;25:494–497).
Free alternative to
- Symptom Checklist-90-Revised / Brief Symptom Inventory · Pearson
Paid broad distress inventories; the K10 is the free, brief non-specific distress measure.
Source & licence
Kessler RC, Andrews G, Colpe LJ, et al. Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychol Med. 2002;32(6):959–976. Item wording from the NSW Health K10 form (four-week version); scoring bands from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Information Paper 4817.0.55.001, 2007–08).
Licence: © Ronald C. Kessler — free to use; the developers state no formal permission or approval is required
Cite Kessler et al. (2002). Wording follows the Australian four-week form published by NSW Health; the original US self-administered form asks about 'the last 30 days'.
Official source ↗