Paediatric Index of Emotional Distress (PI-ED)

Purpose: Screen children and young adults for anxiety and depression

Age: 8 - 16 years

Time: 5 - 10 minutes

Based on the Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale (HADS), the Paediatric Index of Emotional Distress (PI-ED) is a valid and reliable self-rating scale that screens children and young people for emotional distress.

The PI-ED assesses psychological distress using one brief questionnaire, comprising 14 questions that are presented on one page. It asks children and young people about their symptoms of anxiety and depression. A concrete cut-off score then clearly identifies individuals most in need of further clinical assessment and intervention.

The PI-ED is the only measure of its kind designed for use with both children that have physical health problems (i.e. those in paediatric clinics and hospitals) and children in a normal population.

Key Features

• The PI-ED facilitates the early identification of mental health problems and aids referral to appropriate services with clear cut-off scores to indicate increased risk of psychological distress
• It is ideal for use as a screening measure, an index of clinical change and as an outcome measure
• Quick and easy to administer, the PI-ED is briefer than comparable measures, easy to score and simple to interpret with clear cut off scores
• Highly cost effective – as a single measure of emotional distress it removes the need for separate measures of anxiety and depression or different measures for different ages