Elkins, Gary Ray, 1952-Johnson, Aimee K.2012-11-292012-11-292012-082012-11-29http://hdl.handle.net/2104/8550With increasing costs and utilization of health care services in primary care, and evidence for gross under-diagnosis of acute psychological distress, a brief screening measure that includes the most salient constructs of psychological distress: depression, anxiety, hopelessness and anger, is critically needed. Such a scale may identify psychological distress without increasing the administration burden of the patient or professional and provide medical clinicians with a practical instrument that could identify patients who may require additional psychological evaluation and facilitate discussion. This paper represents the findings of an investigation into a new measure which was initially constructed in a clinical sample, and cross-validated in a college sample and psychiatric sample. Item analyses, correlations of convergent and divergent validity, and confirmatory analyses suggest that this scale has potential as a reliable and valid clinical tool in psychiatric and collegiate populations to implement as a brief screening measure of psychological distress.en-USBaylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.Psychological distress.ThesisWorldwide access.Access changed 1/14/14.