4817.0.55.001 - Information Paper: Use of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale in ABS Health Surveys, Australia, 2007-08  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 04/04/2012   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale - 10 (K10) is a short dimensional measure of non-specific psychological distress in the anxiety-depression spectrum,
In Australia, national level information on psychological distress using the K10 was first collected in the Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing of Adults (SMHWB) conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 1997. The K10 was subsequently included in ABS National Health Surveys (NHS) in 2001, 2004-05 and 2007-08, and in the ABS 2007 SMHWB.

This publication provides information on the use of the K10 in ABS health surveys, and analyses K10 scores by a range of characteristics.