Psychometric properties of the Federal Unit Scale for general psychopathology screening without iatrogenic effects

Abstract

Mental health assessment tools play a crucial role in clinical practice, yet many existing scales risk exacerbating the conditions they aim to measure. This study introduces the Federal Unit Scale (FUS), a novel 5-item scale designed to assess a broad range of affect and traits capturing distress tolerance while minimizing potentially triggering language. The FUS was developed with a focus on combat veterans, frontline workers, and first responders. We examined its psychometric properties using two samples: a clinical sample (N = 1798) and a crowdsourced sample (N = 10,000). Psychometric analyses revealed strong internal consistency (α = 0.84), essential unidimensionality (ω_h = 0.75), and excellent measurement precision across a broad trait range (−2.5 to 2.0 SD). The FUS demonstrated robust convergent validity with established measures including the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and PCL-5 (r = 0.59–0.66), though correlation with the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale was modest (r = 0.22). Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed good discrimination of clinical severity based on established measures (AUC = 0.77–0.81) and excellent discrimination between treatment-responsive and help-seeking individuals (AUC = 0.92). The FUS achieves these psychometric properties while avoiding symptom-focused language that could trigger distress, making it particularly suitable for vulnerable populations such as combat veterans, first responders, and trauma survivors. Future research should explore its long-term predictive validity, cross-cultural applicability, and effectiveness in various clinical settings.