Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation 10 – CORE-10
A brief 10-item self-report measure for screening and tracking global psychological distress.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation 10 – CORE-10 was developed by Barkham, M., Bewick, B., Mullin, T., Gilbody, S., Connell, J., Cahill, J., & Evans, C. (2013). It is designed to measure Psychological Distress. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 10 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Not at all, 1 = Only occasionally, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Often, 4 = Most or all of the time.
The scale includes 2 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 40. Interpretation guidelines:
- Non-clinical range: 0 – 10
- Mild psychological distress: 11 – 14
- Moderate psychological distress: 15 – 19
- Moderate-to-severe psychological distress: 20 – 24
- Severe psychological distress: 25 – 40
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.90.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.