Mood Disorder Questionnaire
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The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)[1] is a 5-item self-report psychological questionnaire designed to identify mood symptoms often found in bipolar disorder and their degree of impairment in adolescents and adults ages 12 and above. It takes approximately 5–10 minutes to complete. In 2006, a 3-item parent-report version was created to allow for assessment of adolescent bipolar symptoms from a caregiver perspective.[2]
Development
The MDQ was developed as a screening tool for bipolar disorder, and assesses for lifetime symptoms of mania and hypomania.[3] It was developed in the hopes that it would reduce the mis-diagnosis and delayed diagnosis of bipolar disorder.[3] First built for use in adults, it has been translated into many languages and tested in a range of different settings. Researchers also have studied whether parents could use this to provide useful information about their child or adolescent. Meta-analyses have found that the MDQ is one of the best self-report tools for assessing hypomania or mania in adults,[4][5][6] and the parent report version is one of the three best options available for parents to use about their children.[7]
Scoring and interpretation
The first question identifies 13 common mood and behavior symptoms and asks if the child has experienced any of them, and the second question asks if these symptoms have ever occurred at the same time. The third question asks to what degree of impairment the symptoms have on the child, on a scale of “no problem,” “minor problem,” “moderate problem,” to “serious problem.” The last two questions address if a family history of bipolar disorder exists and if a diagnosis of bipolar disorder has already been determined.
Only responses to the first three are factored in the total score. The questionnaire suggests a higher risk for bipolar disorder if the child reports the presence of 7 or more symptoms, reports the co-existence of multiple symptoms, and reports degree of impairment as a “moderate” to “serious problem.”
Psychometrics
A meta-review of 21 articles analyzed the accuracy of the MDQ among patients with mood disorders. The overall sensitivity was .62. The overall specificity of the MDQ was .85. The meta-review also compared the diagnostic accuracy of the MDQ in Eastern and Western cultures and did not reveal significant differences between the two regions.[6]
The MDQ has previously been used to assess the presence of bipolar disorder in children using parent, teacher, and child-report. All three raters showed discriminant validity using the MDQ, with parents showing the highest level of discrimination between those with and without pediatric bipolar disorder.[7]
Limitations
One limitation of the MDQ is that it has shown higher sensitivity when detecting bipolar I in comparison to other bipolar spectrum disorders. Additionally, the sensitivity and specificity of the MDQ has been shown to differ by the use of a standard vs. modified cutoff (i.e., simplifies the cutoff to be based only on symptom endorsement, rather than impairment). Sensitivity and specificity of the measure is also dependent on study inclusion and exclusion criteria. The exclusion of individuals previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder reduced measure sensitivity.
Additionally, self-report measures have some disadvantages, including bias that can stem from social desirability and demand characteristics.
See also
Links from psychological organizations
For adults
- Cognitive Therapy (CT) for Bipolar Disorder
- Family Focused Therapy (FFT) for Bipolar Disorder
- Psychoeducation for Bipolar
- Systematic Care for Bipolar Disorder
- Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (ISRT) for Bipolar Disorder
- SAMHSA Stable Resource Toolkit: Mood Disorder Questionnaire
For children and youths
Practice parameters
For adults
Wikilinks
References
- ^ "Mood Disorders Questionnaire" (PDF).
- ^ Wagner, Karen Dineen; Hirschfeld, Robert M. A.; Emslie, Graham J.; Findling, Robert L.; Gracious, Barbara L.; Reed, Michael L. (2006-05-01). "Validation of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire for bipolar disorders in adolescents". The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 67 (5): 827–830. ISSN 0160-6689. PMID 16841633.
- ^ a b Hirschfeld, Robert M.A.; Holzer, Charles; Calabrese, Joseph R.; Weissman, Myrna; Reed, Michael; Davies, Marilyn; Frye, Mark A.; Keck, Paul; McElroy, Susan; Lewis, Lydia; Tierce, Jonathan; Wagner, Karen D.; Hazard, Elizabeth (January 2003). "Validity of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire: A General Population Study". American Journal of Psychiatry. 160 (1): 178–180. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.1.178.
- ^ Takwoingi, Yemisi; Riley, Richard D.; Deeks, Jonathan J. (2015-11-01). "Meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies in mental health". Evidence Based Mental Health. 18 (4): 103–109. doi:10.1136/eb-2015-102228. ISSN 1468-960X. PMC 4680179. PMID 26446042.
- ^ Carvalho, André F.; Takwoingi, Yemisi; Sales, Paulo Marcelo G.; Soczynska, Joanna K.; Köhler, Cristiano A.; Freitas, Thiago H.; Quevedo, João; Hyphantis, Thomas N.; McIntyre, Roger S. (2015-02-01). "Screening for bipolar spectrum disorders: A comprehensive meta-analysis of accuracy studies". Journal of Affective Disorders. 172: 337–346. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.024. ISSN 0165-0327.
- ^ a b Wang, Hee Ryung; Woo, Young Sup; Ahn, Hyeong Sik; Ahn, Il Min; Kim, Hyun Jung; Bahk, Won-Myong (2015-07-01). "The Validity of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire for Screening Bipolar Disorder: A Meta-Analysis". Depression and Anxiety. 32 (7): 527–538. doi:10.1002/da.22374. ISSN 1520-6394.
- ^ a b Youngstrom, E.A.; Genzlinger, J. E.; Egerton, G. A.; Van Meter, A. R. (2015). "Multivariate Meta-Analysis of the Discriminative Validity of Caregiver, Youth, and Teacher Rating Scales for Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: Mother Knows Best About Mania". Archives of Scientific Psychology.
