ABSTRACT
The Profile of Mood States (POMS; McNair, Lorr, & Droppleman) is widely used to assess mood states. However, the utility of the POMS has been restricted by the lack of normative data from the general population. We report on our adult (N = 400) and geriatric (N = 170) POMS standardization samples. Both groups were age-, gender-, and race-stratified according to 1990 census data. We also report on convergent and discriminant validity of POMS scales, using a multitrait, multimethod paradigm.
Subject(s)
Affect/classification , Geriatric Psychiatry , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/standards , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data , Reference Values , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Current self-report depression scales may overestimate depression symptoms in medical patients by including items measuring symptoms inherent to many medical conditions. They may therefore reflect a patient's medical rather than psychological state. We present the Chicago Multiscale Depression Inventory (CMDI), a factorially derived self-report depression scale that includes Mood, Evaluative, and Vegetative subscales. The CMDI and its subscales were designed to be used separately or combined; we posit that the nonvegetative CMDI subscales are the most accurate means of examining depression in medical patients. In this study we outline the development, standardization, and initial validation of the CMDI, a multistep process that required a total sample of 1,062 adults. We show the CMDI and each of its subscales to be internally consistent, reliable, and valid. Confirmatory factor analysis supports the CMDI factor structure. Finally, we report standardization scores for each of the CMDI scales, derived from an age-, race- and gender-stratified standardization sample of 420 adults.
