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Testing the Validity of the K6 in Detecting Major Depression and PTSD Among Jailed Women

NCJ Number
229224
Journal
Criminal Jusitce and Behavior Volume: 37 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2010 Pages: 64-80
Author(s)
Sheryl Pimlott Kubiak; Marisa L. Beeble; Deborah Bybee
Date Published
January 2010
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study tests the utility and psychometric properties of the K6 as a preliminary screening tool in detecting depression and posttraumatic stress disorder among female inmates.
Abstract
Findings of the study indicate that the K6 identified 37 percent of the women charged and booked into the urban jail as having serious mental illness (SMI) using the customary cut score of 13, with an ROC-AUC value of .92 in detecting major depression or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, this cut score misclassified a substantial proportion of women; therefore, a modification of this score may be warranted. Despite high prevalence rates of mental illness, jails often lack validated measures for detecting it, and many of the screening instruments used do not adequately identify depression and trauma-related disorders in women. The K6 is a widely used, easily administered and scored instrument that has been validated in clinical and nonclinical populations and has the potential to be used as a mental health screening tool for both men and women within incarcerated settings. Focusing solely on women, this study examined the concurrent validity of the K6 in ascertaining major depression and PTSD among 515 jailed women. Tables, notes, and references