Optional. These settings change follow-up framing only and do not change K6 scoring.
{{ interpretationLead }}
| Score range | Range on this tool | How it is used here |
|---|---|---|
| {{ row.range }} | {{ row.label }} | {{ row.note }} |
| # | Higher-scored focus | Lower-scored anchor |
|---|---|---|
| {{ row.id }} | {{ row.highLabel }} ({{ row.highScore }}) | {{ row.lowLabel }} ({{ row.lowScore }}) |
When to seek support: {{ supportNote }}
| # | Item | Response | Score | Contribution | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{ row.id }} | {{ row.text }} | {{ row.answer }} | {{ row.score }} | {{ row.contribution }} |
These visuals are descriptive only. Formal interpretation still comes from the 0-24 total, the 5+ elevated-distress watch range used here, and the common 13+ serious-distress cutoff.
Psychological distress is a short-term pattern of worry, hopelessness, agitation, exhaustion, and feeling overwhelmed that can build over days or weeks. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, usually called the K6, is one of the briefest public-health screeners for summarizing that recent strain, and this tool converts six past-30-day answers into a single score you can review.
That kind of summary matters when something feels noticeably heavier than usual but the change is still hard to describe. A compact score does not explain the cause, yet it can turn a vague sense of strain into something you can repeat, compare, and discuss more clearly.
After the six items are complete, the page shows a total from 0 to 24, an in-app band from Low to Severe, a gauge for the overall score, and a breakdown that highlights which feelings are contributing most to the total. The result is intentionally short enough for self-checking while still giving more context than a single number.
A realistic use case is someone who has felt more tense, down, or worn out over the last month and wants a structured readout before deciding whether the pattern seems to be settling or needs a human conversation. Using the same 30-day frame each time makes later comparisons far more meaningful than a memory of feeling simply better or worse.
The result is a screening readout, not a diagnosis, and the grouped views are package-specific summaries rather than official K6 subscales. Public-health reporting often treats scores of 13 or more as serious distress; this tool keeps that upper range but splits it into Moderate and Severe for extra in-app guidance. That makes the output more descriptive, but it does not turn the questionnaire into a clinical assessment.
The strongest first pass is simple: answer each item quickly, keep every answer tied to the same past-30-day window, and do not average together a good week and a bad week into something neater. The K6 is trying to capture recent frequency, so your first honest response is usually more useful than a heavily edited one.
Start Assessment, finish all six questions, and read Total and Band before spending time on Pattern, Anxiety-like, Low mood, or Fatigue/Effort.Higher-scored focus, Lower-scored anchor, and Your Answers before deciding what the result means.r parameter. Review the actual answers on screen instead of assuming you started from blank.A common mistake is to overread the grouped views as if they were diagnostic categories. They are not. They simply show where the six answers cluster inside this package. If the result changes how concerned you feel, the practical next step is to bring the score together with the answer pattern and your recent context into a real conversation.
The K6 uses six questions about the past 30 days, each scored from 0 for None of the time through 4 for All of the time. The total score is the sum of all six responses, so the package can only produce integers from 0 to 24.
The in-app band logic is explicit and inclusive on the upper bound: totals from 0 to 7 remain Low, 8 to 12 are Mild, 13 to 18 are Moderate, and 19 to 24 are Severe. That differs slightly from common public-health reporting, which often groups the whole 13 to 24 range under serious psychological distress. The extra split is package interpretation, not a separate validated scoring standard.
The package also calculates three descriptive clusters. Anxiety-like sums items 1 and 3, Low mood sums items 2, 4, and 6, and Fatigue/Effort uses item 5 alone. Their labels of none, mild, moderate, and high come from quartiles of each cluster's maximum score. That makes them useful for orientation, but they are not part of canonical K6 scoring.
All computation is client-side and no lambda.mjs helper is present. The only persistence built into the package is the r query parameter, which stores six characters using digits 0 to 4 or - for unanswered positions. If that pattern is invalid, the tool ignores it. If it is valid, the same URL can reopen the response state.
The score and cluster summaries are small enough to describe exactly:
| Symbol | Meaning | Range |
|---|---|---|
| xi | One answered K6 item | 0 to 4 |
| T | Total score shown in the main badge and gauge | 0 to 24 |
| A | Anxiety-like cluster |
0 to 8 |
| M | Low mood cluster |
0 to 12 |
| F | Fatigue/Effort cluster |
0 to 4 |
| Total score | In-app band | Interpretation note |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 7 | Low |
Limited recent distress on the package scale. |
| 8 to 12 | Mild |
Elevated distress without crossing the common 13+ public-health cutoff. |
| 13 to 18 | Moderate |
The lower half of the range often grouped together as serious distress elsewhere. |
| 19 to 24 | Severe |
The upper half of the 13+ range and the strongest in-app support cue. |
A quick substitution example shows how compact the scoring is. If the answers are 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, and 1, then the total is 8. The app labels that as Mild. The clusters become Anxiety-like 4/8 · mild, Low mood 3/12 · none, and Fatigue/Effort 1/4 · none. A one-point change can therefore move the band even when the overall answer pattern still looks similar, which is why boundary scores deserve a calm reread rather than a dramatic interpretation.
The package is brief, but the result makes more sense when you read it in the same sequence the interface uses.
Start Assessment. The first question appears with the progress bar and the question list below it.None of the time to All of the time. The progress label updates as each answer lands, such as 3/6 answered.Your K6 Result, shows the score badge, and draws the K6 Total Score (0–24) gauge. If that block never appears, one item is still unanswered.Higher-scored focus versus Lower-scored anchor table. Those views show what is driving the total rather than leaving you with the score alone.Your Answers if you need the exact item pattern, and use the CSV or DOCX export only when you actually want a record. If privacy matters, remember that the current URL can carry the six-answer r state with it.Total and Band are the main outputs. Start there. The cluster summaries, pattern label, and focus table are supporting context. They help explain the result, but they do not outrank the total score and they should not be mistaken for diagnostic categories.
A higher score does not identify a cause, and a lower score does not prove that nothing important is happening. Confidence improves when you compare the band with Your Answers, look at which items scored highest, and repeat the screen later using the same 30-day window.
Low (0 to 7): limited recent distress on this scale, but not a guarantee that every important symptom is absent.Mild (8 to 12): elevated strain worth noticing, especially if the change is new, persistent, or already affecting daily life.Moderate (13 to 18): the app's first band inside the range that many public-health sources already flag as serious distress.Severe (19 to 24): the strongest in-app cue that timely professional support deserves serious consideration.Suppose the six answers are 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, and 2. The tool reports Total 12 and the Mild band. The clusters read Anxiety-like 4/8 · mild, Low mood 6/12 · mild, and Fatigue/Effort 2/4 · mild. That is a good example of a balanced result where no one cluster overwhelms the others.
Start from the evenly distributed 12-point result above and raise just one answer from 2 to 3, producing 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, and 2. The total becomes 13, which the app labels Moderate. The cluster summaries still look fairly balanced, yet the band crosses the common public-health threshold. That is why boundary scores should be read as a prompt for context, not as a dramatic shift in identity.
A shared link such as one carrying ?r=2-2111 restores five answers and one unanswered slot. The progress label stays below completion, Your K6 Result does not appear, and the gauge is absent. The correction is simply to answer the remaining item. The package does not calculate partial scores.
Mental-health screening is a sensitive use case, so the boundary matters as much as the score. This package is suitable for self-monitoring and structured reflection. It is not a diagnosis, it does not choose treatment, and it should not be used to dismiss symptoms just because the band looks lower than expected.
If the result feels alarming, if distress is persistent or disruptive, or if you feel unsafe or at risk of harm, use real-world support instead of relying on a score alone. The most useful next step is usually to pair the result with your answer pattern, recent events, and a conversation with a qualified professional or trusted support person.
No. The K6 is a distress screener. This package reports a total score, an in-app band, and package-generated cluster summaries, but none of those outputs diagnose a condition.
Moderate at 13 when some K6 references treat 13+ as serious distress?Because the package splits the upper range into Moderate for 13 to 18 and Severe for 19 to 24. Many public-health reports group that whole 13 to 24 span together instead.
Anxiety-like, Low mood, and Fatigue/Effort official K6 subscales?No. They are package-specific clusters that help you see where the six answers concentrate. They are descriptive only.
The package syncs response state into the r query parameter. Reopening or sharing the same URL can restore those six answer slots.
The tool waits for all six items. If progress is below 6/6 answered, there will be no Your K6 Result block and no gauge.
r parameter