Newson Jennifer Jane, Pastukh Vladyslav, Thiagarajan Tara C
Sapien Labs, Arlington, VA, United States.
JMIR Ment Health. 2022 Apr 20;9(4):e34105. doi: 10.2196/34105.
The Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) is an anonymous web-based assessment of mental health and well-being that comprehensively covers symptoms across 10 major psychiatric disorders, as well as positive elements of mental function. It uses a novel life impact scale and provides a score to the individual that places them on a spectrum from Distressed to Thriving along with a personal report that offers self-care recommendations. Since April 2020, the MHQ has been freely deployed as part of the Mental Health Million Project.
This paper demonstrates the reliability and validity of the MHQ, including the construct validity of the life impact scale, sample and test-retest reliability of the assessment, and criterion validation of the MHQ with respect to clinical burden and productivity loss.
Data were taken from the Mental Health Million open-access database (N=179,238) and included responses from English-speaking adults (aged≥18 years) from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, India, and Nigeria collected during 2021. To assess sample reliability, random demographically matched samples (each 11,033/179,238, 6.16%) were compared within the same 6-month period. Test-retest reliability was determined using the subset of individuals who had taken the assessment twice ≥3 days apart (1907/179,238, 1.06%). To assess the construct validity of the life impact scale, additional questions were asked about the frequency and severity of an example symptom (feelings of sadness, distress, or hopelessness; 4247/179,238, 2.37%). To assess criterion validity, elements rated as having a highly negative life impact by a respondent (equivalent to experiencing the symptom ≥5 days a week) were mapped to clinical diagnostic criteria to calculate the clinical burden (174,618/179,238, 97.42%). In addition, MHQ scores were compared with the number of workdays missed or with reduced productivity in the past month (7625/179,238, 4.25%).
Distinct samples collected during the same period had indistinguishable MHQ distributions and MHQ scores were correlated with r=0.84 between retakes within an 8- to 120-day period. Life impact ratings were correlated with frequency and severity of symptoms, with a clear linear relationship (R>0.99). Furthermore, the aggregate MHQ scores were systematically related to both clinical burden and productivity. At one end of the scale, 89.08% (8986/10,087) of those in the Distressed category mapped to one or more disorders and had an average productivity loss of 15.2 (SD 11.2; SEM [standard error of measurement] 0.5) days per month. In contrast, at the other end of the scale, 0% (1/24,365) of those in the Thriving category mapped to any of the 10 disorders and had an average productivity loss of 1.3 (SD 3.6; SEM 0.1) days per month.
The MHQ is a valid and reliable assessment of mental health and well-being when delivered anonymously on the web.
心理健康商数（MHQ）是一种基于网络的匿名心理健康与幸福状况评估工具，全面涵盖了10种主要精神障碍的症状以及心理功能的积极方面。它采用了一种新颖的生活影响量表，为个体提供一个分数，将其置于从痛苦到蓬勃发展的范围内，并提供一份包含自我护理建议的个人报告。自2020年4月以来，MHQ已作为心理健康百万项目的一部分免费部署。
本文展示了MHQ的信度和效度，包括生活影响量表的结构效度、评估的样本及重测信度，以及MHQ在临床负担和生产力损失方面的效标效度。
数据取自心理健康百万开放获取数据库（N = 179,238），包括2021年期间从美国、加拿大、英国、爱尔兰、澳大利亚、新西兰、南非、新加坡、印度和尼日利亚收集的讲英语的成年人（年龄≥18岁）的回复。为评估样本信度，在同一6个月期间内比较了随机抽取的人口统计学匹配样本（每组11,033/179,238，6.16%）。重测信度通过对间隔≥3天进行了两次评估的个体子集（1907/179,238，1.06%）来确定。为评估生活影响量表的结构效度，针对一个示例症状（悲伤、痛苦或绝望情绪）的频率和严重程度询问了额外问题（4247/179,238，2.37%）。为评估效标效度，将被调查者评定为对生活有高度负面影响的因素（相当于每周经历该症状≥5天）映射到临床诊断标准以计算临床负担（174,618/179,238，97.42%）。此外，将MHQ分数与过去一个月错过的工作日数量或生产力降低情况进行了比较（7625/179,238，4.25%）。
同一时期收集的不同样本具有难以区分的MHQ分布，并且在8至120天内重测时，MHQ分数的相关性r = 0.84。生活影响评分与症状频率和严重程度相关，呈现出明显的线性关系（R>0.99）。此外，汇总的MHQ分数与临床负担和生产力均存在系统性关联。在量表的一端，处于痛苦类别的人中89.08%（8986/10,087）符合一种或多种障碍，每月平均生产力损失15.2（标准差11.2；测量标准误[SEM]0.5）天。相比之下，在量表的另一端，处于蓬勃发展类别的人中0%（1/24,365）符合10种障碍中的任何一种，每月平均生产力损失1.3（标准差3.6；SEM 0.1）天。
当在网络上以匿名方式提供时，MHQ是一种有效且可靠的心理健康与幸福状况评估工具。
