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Use the concern that best matches the first screening question, not every possible symptom.
Estimate one sitting, including reading instructions and checking the result.
Choose how the selected screener result will be used after completion.
Use direct item when self-harm wording should stay inside the first screener route.
Use balanced for general routing, or emphasize speed, safety, repeat monitoring, or broad distress coverage.
Choose whether the briefing should favor one source page, a two-step route, or a broad-first handoff.
Screener route Fit Length Recall window Why it fits Safety caveat Copy
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Decision Recommendation Details Copy
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Source slug Screener page Primary focus Items Score range Recall window State Copy
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Tags: Diagnostics, Psychology, Psychometrics
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Depression, anxiety, stress, and general distress screeners often sit next to one another, but they do not answer the same first question. PHQ-9 is a short depression severity route, GAD-7 is a short anxiety severity route, DASS separates depression, anxiety, and stress into three lanes, and Kessler scales summarize broader psychological distress. Choosing between them is partly about the symptom focus and partly about time, recall window, safety wording, and what will happen after the score is reviewed.

A screener route is not a diagnosis. It is a structured starting point for deciding which questionnaire should be completed first, which second instrument might add useful context, and which safety check should not be skipped. A route can be a strong fit for a low-mood check and a weaker fit for a stress-only review because the questions, scoring range, and recall period are built for different jobs.

Mood and stress screener route comparison A compact diagram showing concern, time, context, and safety feeding a weighted screener route score, with route table, heatmap, coverage matrix, and briefing outputs. Pick the first mental-health screener route Concern, time, context, and safety are scored separately before the top route is named. User choices primary concern time and use context safety preference Route fit score focus 42% safety 17% context, time, clarity 0 to 100 display score Decision aids route table and heatmap coverage matrix safety briefing and JSON
The route score compares fit between source screeners. It is not a symptom severity score or safety clearance.

Safety wording is one of the clearest differences between these routes. PHQ-9 and BDI-II include direct self-harm wording. GAD-7, DASS, K10, K6, PSS-10, CES-D-20, BAI, GDS-15, and the SAS-style anxiety proxy do not settle urgent-risk questions on their own. When safety may be active, symptom screening and risk follow-up must stay separate enough that a concerning answer is not hidden inside a total score.

The comparison is most useful when the goal is route selection: which screener to open first, which backup route to keep nearby, and which caveat should travel with the recommendation. Saved tables, chart images, DOCX exports, copied rows, JSON, and shared links can still reveal sensitive mental-health choices, so handle exported material like personal health notes.

Technical Details:

Each candidate route has fixed attributes: symptom focus, item count, estimated minutes, recall window, score range, direct-risk status, clarity rating, concern fit, and use-context fit. The comparison model turns those attributes into five component scores on a 0 to 5 scale, then combines them into a displayed fit score from 0 to 100.

The largest component is focus fit because the first question should match the main concern. Safety, context, and time still matter. A route that is excellent for depression can drop when the setup is anxiety-first. A long inventory can drop when the time budget is under three minutes. A route without direct self-harm wording can drop when the selected setup asks for that wording inside the first instrument.

Route fit score

weighted score =
  focus fit * 0.42
+ safety fit * 0.17
+ use-context fit * 0.16
+ time fit * 0.15
+ clarity fit * 0.10

displayed fit = round(weighted score / 5 * 100)
Component Weight What changes the score Why it matters
Focus fit 42% Depression, anxiety, stress, mixed symptoms, broad distress, or older-adult mood. Keeps the route aligned with the main screening question.
Safety fit 17% Whether direct self-harm wording is preferred, separate, or not part of the symptom check. Prevents direct-risk handling from being implied by a symptom score.
Use-context fit 16% First-pass self check, repeat monitoring, visit preparation, or population screen. Matches the route to the way the result will be used.
Time fit 15% The instrument's estimated minutes compared with the chosen time budget. Reduces the chance that a longer route is chosen for a short session.
Clarity fit 10% How directly the source route maps to a clear screening decision. Helps distinguish plain public routes from proxy or more caveat-heavy routes.

Advanced lenses adjust the weights without changing the source instruments. The fastest-route lens increases time pressure. The safety-aware lens increases the value of a direct-risk item. The monitoring lens favors routes that are cleaner to repeat. The broad-distress lens lifts K10, K6, DASS-21, and PSS-10 when the symptom picture is not narrow yet.

Route family Typical strength Main boundary
PHQ-9 and BDI-II Depression severity and direct self-harm wording. A positive self-harm item needs its own follow-up, not just total-score review.
GAD-7, BAI, and SAS-style Anxiety-focused screening, with BAI and SAS-style routes leaning more toward bodily or proxy anxiety signals. They do not directly assess suicide risk, and bodily anxiety symptoms can overlap with medical issues.
DASS-21 and DASS-42 Separate depression, anxiety, and stress lanes from the past week. DASS is dimensional rather than diagnostic and does not include suicidal-tendency items.
PSS-10 Perceived stress burden across the last month. It is not a depression, anxiety, or safety screen.
K10 and K6 Broad nonspecific distress, especially for survey or program triage. They do not separate depression, anxiety, and stress into distinct clinical lanes.
GDS-15 Older-adult depression screening with simpler yes/no style. Medical, cognitive, medication, isolation, function, and safety context still need separate review.

Recall windows are a major comparability limit. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 use the last 2 weeks, DASS uses the past week, PSS-10 uses the last month, K10 and K6 use roughly the last 4 weeks or 30 days in common forms, and GDS-15 is treated here as a past-week older-adult mood route. Repeat monitoring is clearest when the same route, same window, and same completion context are kept consistent.

Everyday Use & Decision Guide:

Set the primary concern before reading the ranking. Low mood, loss of interest, hopelessness, or depressive severity points toward a depression route. Worry, panic-like arousal, fear, or tension points toward an anxiety route. Stress or overload points toward PSS-10 or DASS. A mixed setup makes DASS-21, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 more useful as a group, while broad distress can make K10 or K6 the cleaner first pass.

Use the time budget as a real one-sitting constraint. K6, GAD-7, PHQ-9, K10, and PSS-10 fit short sessions better than DASS-42 or longer Beck-style inventories. If the comparison is for visit preparation, a slightly longer route may be worth it. If it is for a quick pre-screen or a population survey, the shortest credible route usually matters more.

  • Choose Prefer a direct self-harm item only when that wording should be inside the first route.
  • Choose Plan a separate urgent-risk screen when safety follow-up exists outside the symptom screener.
  • Use Fastest credible route when completion burden is the main constraint.
  • Use Broad distress coverage when anxiety, depression, and stress are not yet easy to separate.
  • Use the pairing style to decide whether the briefing should favor one route, a two-step symptom pair, or a broad-first handoff.

The route table is the first result to check because it shows the recommended screener, fit score, item count, recall window, practical reason, and safety caveat in one place. The fit heatmap explains why rows moved up or down. The symptom coverage matrix is better for comparing the shape of each route, such as whether a source is strong for anxiety, stress, older-adult mood, repeat monitoring, or direct-risk wording.

A top route does not mean the other instruments are wrong. PHQ-9 may lead when direct self-harm wording is preferred, DASS-21 may lead when three symptom lanes matter, GAD-7 may lead for anxiety-first checks, and GDS-15 may lead for older-adult mood. If the setting, safety workflow, or time budget changes, update the controls before saving the recommendation.

Step-by-Step Guide:

  1. Choose the primary concern that best matches the first screening question.
  2. Select the available time for one realistic completion session.
  3. Set the use context: first-pass check, repeat monitoring, visit preparation, or population screen.
  4. Choose the safety signal preference before comparing the top routes.
  5. Open advanced settings only when speed, safety, monitoring, broad distress, or pairing style should shift the recommendation.
  6. Read the summary and the first rows in Screener Route Table.
  7. Use Screener Fit Heatmap and Symptom Coverage Matrix to audit why the route ranked where it did.
  8. Read Safety Briefing before copying or exporting a route recommendation.
  9. Save CSV, DOCX, chart images, or JSON only after the controls match the real use case.

Interpreting Results:

The displayed fit score is a route-selection score. It says how well a source screener matches the chosen concern, time budget, context, safety preference, and advanced lens. It does not say how depressed, anxious, stressed, or safe someone is. Symptom severity is calculated only after the selected source assessment is completed.

Fit band Score range Practical reading Common check
Primary route 85 to 100 Strongest first route for the current settings. Confirm the safety caveat and recall window before using it.
Strong fit 72 to 84 Good option with at least one tradeoff. Compare it with the top route and briefing.
Use with caveat 58 to 71 Possible route, but not naturally favored by the selected setup. Use it only when a specific instrument or recall window is needed.
Secondary fit 0 to 57 Weak fit for the current controls. Change the controls or choose a clearer route.

Read the safety briefing as part of the result, not as an optional note. Direct self-harm wording in PHQ-9 or BDI-II can flag a response that needs immediate attention even when the total score is not high. A high score on a route without direct-risk wording can still be serious, but it does not prove that urgent risk is absent.

For repeat checks, compare like with like. A DASS-21 run from the past week should not be treated as interchangeable with a PHQ-9 run from the last 2 weeks or a PSS-10 run from the last month. If the goal is tracking change, keep the same source route and record why any route change happened.

Worked Examples:

Mixed mood and stress, short session

With mixed mood and stress, a 3 to 6 minute budget, first-pass context, and direct self-harm wording preferred, PHQ-9 can rank above DASS-21. PHQ-9 gains points for speed and direct-risk wording, while DASS-21 stays close because it covers depression, anxiety, and stress in one profile.

Anxiety first, separate safety screen

When the primary concern is anxiety and a separate urgent-risk screen is already planned, GAD-7 usually becomes the cleaner starting point. BAI can be useful when bodily arousal, panic-like symptoms, or somatic anxiety need more detail, but the route still needs medical context when physical symptoms may have another cause.

Broad program triage

For a population or program screen with general distress selected, K10 and K6 become more competitive. K10 gives a fuller broad-distress total, while K6 reduces burden when the first pass needs to be very short. A narrower route can follow after depression, anxiety, or stress becomes clearer.

Older-adult mood check

When older-adult mood is the concern, GDS-15 tends to rise because it is age-tailored and avoids some somatic overlap found in general depression inventories. The recommendation still should not replace review of cognition, medication changes, illness, isolation, function, and safety.

FAQ:

Does this comparator score PHQ-9, GAD-7, DASS, or K10 answers?

No. It ranks screener routes. Open the recommended source assessment to answer questionnaire items and calculate that instrument's symptom score.

Why can the same route move when only the safety preference changes?

The safety component is scored separately. PHQ-9 and BDI-II gain fit when a direct self-harm item is preferred. Routes without direct-risk wording gain fit when a separate urgent-risk screen is already planned or when the setup is symptom monitoring only.

Is the top fit score a clinical recommendation?

No. It is a routing recommendation for the selected controls. Diagnosis, treatment planning, and risk decisions need the completed screener result, the item pattern, and qualified clinical context.

What should happen if self-harm or immediate danger is present?

Use human crisis or emergency support right away. In the United States, call or text 988 for crisis support, or use local emergency services when there is immediate danger.

Can exported results be used in notes?

Yes, when the controls match the real case. Treat exports as route-selection notes, not as completed symptom scores, diagnoses, or safety clearances.

Glossary:

Screener route
The source assessment page recommended as the first questionnaire to complete.
Fit score
A 0 to 100 route-selection score based on focus, safety, context, time, and clarity.
Direct self-harm item
A questionnaire item that asks directly about death or self-harm thoughts. Any positive response needs direct follow-up.
Recall window
The time period the questionnaire asks about, such as the past week, last 2 weeks, or last month.
Broad distress
A general psychological distress signal that does not split symptoms into separate depression, anxiety, and stress scores.

References: