Higher stress scores for female medical students measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) in Pakistan.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Qamar K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4309936 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:IntroductionKessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) is a 10-item screening tool designed for nonspecific psychological distress. The current study aims to identify a best-fitting factor structure of the K10, and to test its cross-gender measurement invariance based on the structure.MethodsUsing convenience sampling, we included 339 (n = 192 for boys and 135 for girls) children of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant workers in Hangzhou, China.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis for ordered-categorical measures revealed a two-factor structure as the best-fitting model, in which five items (hopeless, depressed, effort, severely depressed, and worthless) loaded on depression and the other five items loaded on anxiety (tired, nervous, severely nervous, restless, and severely restless). The model held at different levels of the measurement invariance testing, that is, full measurement invariance was not rejected in our sample, suggesting that gender differences as assessed with K10 reflect true differences. Structural invariance testing showed that girls in our sample showed significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety than boys.ConclusionThese findings support that the K10 is suitable for gender-comparative research among children of Chinese migrant workers. Using the K10 as a screening tool among this population should be promoted. Limitations and directions for future research were discussed.
| S-EPMC8671765 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to translate, adapt and validate the Kessler 10-item questionnaire (K10) for measuring psychological distress in rural Bangladesh.DesignCohort study.SettingNarail district, Bangladesh.ParticipantsA random sample of 2425 adults of age 18-90 years was recruited.Outcome measureValidation of the K10 was the major outcome. Sociodemographic factors were measured to assess if the K10 needed adjustment for factors such as age or gender. The Rasch measurement model was used for the validation, and RUMM 2030 and SPSS V.24 software were used for analyses.ResultsInitial inspection of the total sample showed poor overall fit. A sample size of 300, which is more satiated for Rasch analysis, also showed poor overall fit, as indicated by a significant item-trait interaction (?2= 262.27, df=40, p<0.001) and item fit residual values (mean=-0.25, SD=2.49). Of 10 items, five items were disordered thresholds, and seven items showed misfit, suggesting problems with the response format and items. After removing three items ('feel tired', 'depressed' and 'worthless') and changing the Likert scale categories from five to four categories, the remaining seven items showed ordered threshold. A revised seven-item scale has shown adequate internal consistency, with no evidence of multidimensionality, no differential item functioning on age and gender, and no signs of local dependency.ConclusionsAnalysis of the psychometric validity of K10 using the Rasch model showed that 10 items are not appropriate for measuring psychological distress in rural Bangladesh. A modified version of seven items (K7) with four response categories would provide a psychometrically more robust scale than the original K10. The study findings suggest repeating the K7 version in other remote areas for further validation can substantiate an efficient screening tool for measuring psychological distress among the general Bangladeshi population.
| S-EPMC6042570 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The distributional pattern of total scores on depression screening scales in the general population has not been well studied. Recent studies suggest that the total scores on depression screening scales follow an exponential pattern, with the exception of the lower end of the distribution. To further investigate the findings, we determined the distributions of the total and individual item scores on the Kessler Screening Scale for Psychological Distress (K6).Data were obtained from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States. Participants comprised 6,223 individuals between the ages of 25 and 74. The distributions of the total and individual item scores in various combinations were investigated with histograms and regression analysis.Irrespective of the combination of items, the total and individual item scores followed an exponential pattern except at the lower scores. The estimated rate parameters of regression analysis were similar among distributions with the same number of chosen items. At the lower scores, the distributional patterns of total scores varied according to the ratio of "a little" to "none" for each item response.The present results have the potential to estimate the distribution of depressive symptoms in the general population. While the degree of depressive symptoms varies from individual to individual, an entire population may show a certain mathematical distribution.
| S-EPMC5545851 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundAlthough the 6-item Kessler psychological scale (K6) is a useful depression screening scale in clinical settings and epidemiological surveys, little is known about the distribution model of the K6 score in the general population. Using four major national survey datasets from the United States and Japan, we explored the mathematical pattern of the K6 distributions in the general population.MethodsWe analyzed four datasets from the National Health Interview Survey, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in the United States, and the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions in Japan. We compared the goodness of fit between three models: exponential, power law, and quadratic function models. Graphical and regression analyses were employed to investigate the mathematical patterns of the K6 distributions.ResultsThe exponential function had the best fit among the three models. The K6 distributions exhibited an exponential pattern, except for the lower end of the distribution across the four surveys. The rate parameter of the K6 distributions was similar across all surveys.ConclusionsOur results suggest that, regardless of different sample populations and methodologies, the K6 scores exhibit a common mathematical distribution in the general population. Our findings will contribute to the development of the distribution model for such a depression screening scale.
| S-EPMC8035733 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10) and its 6-item short-form version (K6) measure psychological distress, particularly anxiety or depressive symptoms. While these questionnaire scales are widely used in various settings and populations, general population normative data are rarely available. To facilitate the interpretation of K10 and K6 scores, we provide normative general population data from seven European countries. We used an online survey to collect K10 data from general population samples in Austria, Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. We calculated the age- and sex-specific normative values separately for each country. For more specific estimates of K10 and K6 scores for individuals or groups, we also established a multivariable regression model based on socio-demographic and health data. In total, N = 7,087 adults participated in our study (51.6% women; mean age, 49.6 years). The mean K10 score in the total sample was 8.5 points (standard deviation, 7.3) on 0-40 points metric, with mean scores in individual countries ranging from 6.9 (the Netherlands) to 9.9 (Spain). Women showed higher scores than men and younger participants scored higher than older participants. Our study is the first to present normative K10 and K6 data from several European countries using a consistent sampling approach. These reference values will facilitate the interpretation of K10 and K6 scores in clinical research and practice and also highlight the variation in psychological distress levels across countries and groups according to their socio-demographic and health characteristics.
| S-EPMC10603032 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Prior research examining links between neighborhood violence and mental health has not been able to establish whether it is perceived levels of neighborhood violence, or actual levels of violent crime, that matter most for adolescents' psychological well-being. In this study, we ascertained both perceived neighborhood safety and objectively-measured neighborhood-level violent crime (using a novel geospatial index of police-reported crime incidents) for 4464 adolescent respondents from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2011-2014). We used propensity score-matched regression models to examine associations between these measures and CHIS adolescents' symptoms of psychological distress. We found that adolescents who perceived their neighborhood to be unsafe were two times more likely than those who perceived their neighborhood to be safe to report serious psychological distress (OR?=?2.4, 95 % CI?=?1.20, 4.96). Adolescents who lived in areas objectively characterized by high levels of violent crime, however, were no more likely than their peers in safer areas to be distressed (OR?=?1.41; 95 % CI?=?0.60, 3.32). Our results suggest that, at the population level, adolescents' perceptions of neighborhood violence, rather than objective levels of neighborhood crime, are most salient for their mental health.
| S-EPMC5052152 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundExposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) constitutes public health problems linked to adverse mental outcomes such as psychological distress during adulthood. This study examines the prevalence of ACEs and psychological distress and explores the association between ACEs and psychological distress and demographic factors among young adults.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 330 students from May 2018 to July 2018. The participants completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), and the sociodemographic profile scale. We used descriptive statistics to describe the prevalence of ACEs and psychological distress in our sample. After adjusting for the demographic covariates, ACEs' association with psychological distress was determined using binary and multivariate logistic regressions.ResultsA total of 203 students with a mean age of 20.76 ± 2.73 years completed the study. The total mean ACE score was 4.58 ± 1.59, and the total mean psychological distress score was 20.76 ± 6.31. Most of the participants (86.7%) experienced ACEs, 14.8% reported experiencing one ACE, 30.5% reported experiencing 2-3 ACEs, and 41.3% reported experiencing 4+ ACEs. Further, about 85% of the youth have experienced at least one form of sexual abuse during childhood, and females reported a higher number of ACEs than males. Sexual abuse (OR = 2.36; 95% CI: 2.36, 7.65), physical neglect (OR = 2.87; 95% CI: 1.57, 5.31), overall ACE exposure (OR = 6.66; 95% CI: 2.41, 18.42), having 1 ACE (OR = 4.40; 95% CI: 1.32, 14.70), having 2-3 ACEs (OR = 4.13; 95% CI: 1.39, 12.29), and having 4+ (OR = 11.67; 95% CI: 3.95, 34.45) were significantly associated with psychological distress.ConclusionsACEs are prevalent among young adults and are associated with psychological distress in adulthood. Furthermore, parental factors are associated with ACEs and psychological distress. Thus, implementation of school, community-and facility-based routine mental health screening programs is essential for prompt identification, prevention, and treatment of youth with childhood adversities and poor mental health outcomes.
| S-EPMC8086118 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions have not only affected university students' learning and academic outcomes, but also other issues, such as food security status, mental health and employment. In Australia, international students faced additional pressures due to sudden border closures and lack of eligibility for government-provided financial support. This study explored the experiences of domestic and international university students residing in Australia during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic across a range of outcomes. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between July and September 2020 at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. The online survey included food insecurity status, mental health (psychological distress), disruptions to study, employment and sleep. A total of 105 students (n = 66 domestic and n = 39 international) completed the survey. Respondents reported having food insecurity (41.9%) and psychological distress (52.2%, with high and very high levels), with international students reporting significantly higher food insecurity (OR = 9.86 (95% CI 3.9-24.8), p < 0.001) and psychological distress scores (t(90) = 2.68, 95% CI: 1.30 to 8.81, p = 0.009) than domestic students. About one quarter of all respondents reported disruptions to study and employment status around the time of the survey. When asked what government support should be provided for international students, 'financial aid' was the most frequently suggested form of support. This research may help governments and educational institutions design appropriate support, particularly financial and psychological, for both international and domestic university students.
| S-EPMC9658209 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDue to the drastic surge of COVID-19 patients, many countries are considering or already graduating health professional students early to aid professional resources. We aimed to assess outbreak-related psychological distress and symptoms of acute stress reaction (ASR) in health professional students and to characterize individuals with potential need for interventions.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study of 1442 health professional students at Sichuan University, China. At baseline (October 2019), participants were assessed for childhood adversity, stressful life events, internet addiction, and family functioning. Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined associations of the above exposures with subsequent psychological distress and ASR in response to the outbreak.ResultsThree hundred and eighty-four (26.63%) participants demonstrated clinically significant psychological distress, while 160 (11.10%) met the criterion for a probable ASR. Individuals who scored high on both childhood adversity and stressful life event experiences during the past year were at increased risks of both distress (ORs 2.00-2.66) and probable ASR (ORs 2.23-3.10), respectively. Moreover, internet addiction was associated with elevated risks of distress (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.60-2.64) and probable ASR (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.50-3.10). By contrast, good family functioning was associated with decreased risks of distress (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.33-0.55) and probable ASR (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.33-0.69). All associations were independent of baseline psychological distress.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that COVID-19 related psychological distress and high symptoms burden of ASR are common among health professional students. Extended family and professional support should be considered for vulnerable individuals during these unprecedented times.
| S-EPMC7225209 | biostudies-literature
Project description:University students report unhealthy diets and experience poorer mental health than the general population. This study explores the association between psychological distress and resilience with dietary intake in a sample of Australian university students. Cross-sectional data from the University of Newcastle Student Healthy Lifestyle Survey 2017 were analysed. Psychological distress (Kessler Scale), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale) and fruit, vegetable, soft drink, takeaway food and breakfast intakes (short diet questions) were assessed. Socio-demographic (e.g., gender), student (e.g., undergraduate/postgraduate) and health characteristics (e.g., physical activity) were captured. Multivariate linear regression models explored associations between psychological distress and resilience with dietary intake, with adjustment for potential confounders. Analysis included 2710 students (mean age 26.9 ± 9.5 years, 30.4% male). In adjusted models, lower psychological distress was associated with higher fruit (? = -0.37, p = 0.001) and vegetable (? = -0.37, p < 0.001) serves/day, more frequent breakfast consumption (p < 0.001) and less frequent soft drink and takeaway food consumption (p < 0.001). Higher resilience was associated with higher fruit (? = 0.03, p = 0.022) and vegetable (? = 0.06, p < 0.001) serves/day, more frequent breakfast consumption (p = 0.005), and less frequent soft drink (p < 0.001) and takeaway food consumption (p = 0.001). These results highlight a potential link between psychological distress and resilience with diet, and that further research in this area is warranted.
| S-EPMC6862530 | biostudies-literature