ISSN 2360-7920
Psychological distress is characterized as an emotional state of suffering that impairs an individual's ability to cope with a specific set of circumstances. People who experience psychological distress typically receive insufficient diagnosis and/or treatment. Care providers in particular need a reliable, fast, and valid screening tool for psychological distress to overcome the challenges. This has undoubtedly raised the need for screening tools that are simple to use, comprehensible, repeatable, dependable, and effective. A seventeen-item diagnostic tool called the Redeemer's University Psychological Distress Scale (RUPDS) was validated among caregivers in selected hospitals in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The initial 29 items of the Redeemer's University Psychological Distress Scale were developed. Then, eight expert opinions, with at least 10 years of experience in the field were consulted regarding the items. Twenty-six items were kept after applying the 75% item inclusion. The sampling adequacy KMO value was .87, falling within the suggested range of 0 to 1. Significant BTS was observed (X2= 1296.08, df= 325, p =.00). As a result, the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was carried out and the results validated the factorability of the correlation matrix. After several steps, a final set of 17 viable items was obtained for use in item refinement. Significant positive correlation coefficients were observed between RUPDS and K10 (r= .61, p= .000). This finding made Redeemer’s University Psychological Distress Scale (RUPDS) valid as a diagnostic tool for measuring psychological distress among the Nigerian population. It is advised that the Redeemer's University Psychological Distress Scale be used not only in Nigeria but also in other nations with comparable sociocultural contexts, as it was designed with the Nigerian sociocultural context in mind.
Keywords: Psychological distress, scale development, psychometrics, caregivers, Nigeria.