Wang Fang, Gao Xuliang
School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2025 Jun 13;16:1561728. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1561728. eCollection 2025.
Depression is a common mental health condition that can manifest at various stages of life, including the early stages such as childhood and adolescence. In particular, adolescence is a critical period where depression can present with numerous significant and severe symptoms, such as persistent sadness, behavioral changes, and difficulties in academic performance and social interactions. These symptoms, if left untreated, can have long-lasting effects and may recur in adulthood. Early identification and monitoring of depression are therefore essential to ensure timely intervention.The Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) is a widely used tool for measuring depression symptoms in adolescents. This study aimed to assess the SMFQ using Item Response Theory (IRT) in adolescents and determine optimal cutoff points for a revised version.
Using IRT and the Graded Response Model (GRM), we evaluated the SMFQ in 906 Chinese adolescents (average age 15 years). Items 1, 3, 4, and 6 were removed, resulting in the SMFQ-9. Reliability and validity were assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to determine cutoff points.
We validated the reliability and validity of the SMFQ-9, with the structure showing a Cronbach's alpha as high as 0.86. It achieved significant correlations with three criterion questionnaires, and the correlation between SMFQ-9 and full version SMFQ reached 0.975. ROC analysis established an optimal cutoff value of 4.5, with an AUC of 0.985.
The SMFQ-9 retains the robustness of the original SMFQ, improves efficiency, reduces respondent burden, and is a reliable tool for assessing mood in adolescents in clinical and research settings.
抑郁症是一种常见的心理健康状况，可在生命的各个阶段出现，包括童年和青少年等早期阶段。特别是青春期是一个关键时期，抑郁症可能会出现许多严重且显著的症状，如持续悲伤、行为改变以及学业成绩和社交互动方面的困难。如果这些症状得不到治疗，可能会产生长期影响，并可能在成年后复发。因此，早期识别和监测抑郁症对于确保及时干预至关重要。简短情绪与情感问卷（SMFQ）是一种广泛用于测量青少年抑郁症状的工具。本研究旨在使用项目反应理论（IRT）对青少年的SMFQ进行评估，并确定修订版的最佳临界值。
我们使用IRT和等级反应模型（GRM）对906名中国青少年（平均年龄15岁）的SMFQ进行了评估。删除了第1、3、4和6项，形成了SMFQ-9。使用Cronbach's alpha评估信效度，并进行受试者工作特征（ROC）分析以确定临界值。
我们验证了SMFQ-9的信效度，其结构显示Cronbach's alpha高达0.86。它与三份标准问卷具有显著相关性，SMFQ-9与完整版SMFQ之间的相关性达到0.975。ROC分析确定最佳临界值为4.5，曲线下面积（AUC）为0.985。
SMFQ-9保留了原始SMFQ的稳健性，提高了效率，减轻了受访者负担，是临床和研究环境中评估青少年情绪的可靠工具。
