title: Measuring psychological distress in older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Australians: a comparison of the K-10 and K-5.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the cross-cultural validity of two Kessler psychological distress scales (K-10 and K-5) by examining their measurement properties among older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and comparing them to those in non-Aboriginal individuals from NSW Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-reported questionnaire data from the 45 and Up Study for 1,631 Aboriginal and 231,774 non-Aboriginal people were used to examine the factor structure, convergent validity, internal consistency and levels of missing data of K-10 and K-5.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found excellent agreement in classification of distress of Aboriginal participants by K-10 and K-5 (weighted kappa=0.87), high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha K-10: 0.93, K-5: 0.88), and factor structures consistent with those for the total Australian population. Convergent validity was evidenced by a strong graded relationship between the level of distress and the odds of: problems with daily activities due to emotional problems; current treatment for depression or anxiety; and poor quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  K-10 and K-5 scales are promising tools for measuring psychological distress among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 45 and over in research and clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: Preventative Health, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Victoria.
authors.forename: Bridgette J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gubhaju
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Joshy
authors.forename: Beverley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Raphael
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Eades
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Aboriginal Australians; Kesser scales; cross-cultural validity; psychological distress; psychometric