Cited by 234Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychometric Methodologies and Testing

Validation of the mood and feelings questionnaire (MFQ) and short mood and feelings questionnaire (SMFQ) in New Zealand help-seeking adolescents

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Thabrew, Hiran, Stasiak, Karolina, Bavin, Lynda‐Maree, Frampton, Chris, Merry, Sally·2018·International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the reliability and validity of the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) and Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) for measuring depression in New Zealand help‐seeking adolescents. Method: A sample of 183 adolescents completed the 33‐item MFQ, which includes all 13 items on the SMFQ, at three time points during a trial of a computerized intervention for depression. Results: Both the MFQ and SMFQ demonstrated good to excellent Cronbach's alphas, moderate to strong item‐total score correlations, moderate to strong correlations with quality of life and anxiety measures, and strong correlations with the clinician‐rated Children's Depression Rating Scale—Revised and the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale 2 at all time points, indicating good reliability and content, convergent, and concurrent validities, respectively. Favoring sensitivity over specificity, the optimal cut‐off value for differentiating depressed from nondepressed cases for the MFQ was ≥28 and for the SMFQ was ≥12. Both instruments demonstrated satisfactory diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity to change. Conclusion: The MFQ and SMFQ are free and simple instruments that can be used to identify depression and measure symptom change in New Zealand help‐seeking adolescents.

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  1. Reynolds, W. M. (2002). Reynolds adolescent depression scale: Professional manual (2nd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

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Authors
Thabrew, H., Stasiak, K., Bavin, L., Frampton, C., & Merry, S.
Affiliations
Ministry of Health (NZ)
Corresponding author
Thabrew, Hiran
Venue
International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-02-21
Volume
27
Issue
3
Pages
e1610-e1610
ISSN
  • 1049-8931 (ISSN-L)
  • 1557-0657
OpenAlex
W2792314328
Cited by
234
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2
FWCI
21.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Ministry of Health, New Zealand
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
Keywords
Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, adolescent depression, depression screening, psychometric validation, reliability statistics, convergent validity, diagnostic accuracy, New Zealand adolescents
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Child, Depression, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, New Zealand, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult

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