Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)
Psychology: Mental HealthReliability: alpha 0.793 sample items
About this scale
A 13-item self-report screener for bipolar spectrum disorders. Covers a range of manic/hypomanic symptoms and probes whether they co-occurred and caused impairment.
Sample item(s)
“Has there ever been a period of time when you felt so good or so hyper that other people thought you were not your normal self?”
“You felt much more self-confident than usual?”
“You got much less sleep than usual and found you didn't really miss it?”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.79. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Free for academic use.
Source & citation
Hirschfeld, R. M. A., Williams, J. B. W., Spitzer, R. L., Calabrese, J. R., Flynn, L., Keck, P. E., et al. (2000): Development and validation of a screening instrument for bipolar spectrum disorder: The Mood Disorder Questionnaire. American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 157, No. 11, pp. 1873–1875.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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