The MDE (Major Depression Episode) Screener was adapted from the major depression items in the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). The MDE screener (also referred to as the "Mood Screener" for laypersons) was designed to screen for the presence of current and lifetime Criterion A and C of the DSM-IV MDE symptom cluster. It is intended to screen for three groups according to self-report: 1) those with no history of MDEs, 2) those with a past history of MDEs, and 3) those with current MDEs. It is not intended to be a diagnostic tool.
Overview
MDE Screener
Muñoz, R.F. (1998). Preventing major depression by promoting emotion regulation: A conceptual framework and some practical tools. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion (Inaugural issue, September 1998), 23-40. Muñoz, McQuaid, Gonzalez, Dimas, & Rosales (1999). Depression screening in a women's clinic: Using automated Spanish- and English-language voice recognition. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(4), 502-510.
Administration
Items are rated as Yes or No.
| Domains | Scale | Sample Items |
|---|---|---|
| Depression | Felt sad, blue, or depressed most of the day nearly | |
| every day. |
Training
Parallel or Alternate Forms
Maternal Mood Screener (Le & Muñoz, 1998). Uses the same 18-item scale, but somatic symptoms that can be attributed to pregnancy (pre- or post-natal) are queried by asking responder to indicate if she attributes symptom to pregnancy. This version of the MDE screener is available at no charge from http://www.medschool.ucsf.edu/latino/
Psychometrics
Positive endorsement of 5 to 9 of the depression symptoms (including symptoms 1 or 2 and endorsement of the final Severity question), which are present for at least 2 weeks, screens positive for a possible MDE.
| Type: | Rating | Statistics | Min | Max | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parallel/Alternate Forms | Acceptable | Kappa | 0.82 | 0.82 | 0.82 |
There are no data on the test-retest reliability of the MDE screener. Muñoz et al. (1999) examined the agreement between computer and face-to-face administration of the MDE Screener and reported a kappa of .82 for current depression and a kappa of .82 for a lifetime history of depression.
The content validity of the MDE Screener has not been examined, but items were developed based on the DSM-IV criteria.
| Validity Type | Not known | Not found | Nonclincal Samples | Clinical Samples | Diverse Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convergent/Concurrent | Yes | Yes |
1. Kappas between the MDE screener and the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) were .75 for live interviews and .81 for the computerized version of the MDE Screener (Muñoz et al., 1999). 2. Psychometrics were examined with a sample of 554 women aged 18-34 recruited from a university in Spain. Kappa between the SCID-CV and the MDE screener was .76.
| Not Known | Not Found | Nonclinical Samples | Clinical Samples | Diverse Samples | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Predictive Validity: | Yes | Yes |
(Vasquez, Muñoz, Blanco, & Lopez, unpublished). These data are presented above and examine the validity of the MDE Screener using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders – Clinical Version (SCID-CV) as the criterion. In addition, MDE history groups identified by the MDE Screener predict likelihood of quitting smoking (see Muñoz et al., 1997; Muñoz et al., 2006) with lower quit rates for current MDE and higher quit rates for those meeting criteria for a lifetime MDE.
Norms have not been established/published and only limited psychometric analyses have been conducted.
Translations
| Language: | Translated | Back Translated | Reliable | Good Psychometrics | Similar Factor Structure | Norms Available | Measure Developed for this Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Spanish | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Population Information
1. Primary-care patients at an urban public-sector hospital (San Francisco General Hospital; n=104; Muñoz, Lenert, Delucchi, Stoddard, Perez, Penilla, & Perez-Stable, 1999). The sample included 56 English-speaking and 48 Spanish-speaking women (mean age=33.7, SD=10.02). 2. Spanish-speaking Latino smokers in a stop-smoking randomized trial via the mail (n=136; Muñoz et al., 1997). Participants were 84 men and 52 women (mean age=35.3). 3. Smokers seeking to stop smoking via the Internet (n=4000+; Muñoz et al., 2006). English-speaking participants were 936 men and 2,118 women. Spanish-speaking participants were 629 men and 361 women.
| Population Type: | Measure Used with Members of this Group | Members of this Group Studied in Peer-Reviewed Journals | Reliable | Good Psychometrics | Norms Available | Measure Developed for this Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Lower Socio-economic status | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Pros & Cons/References
1. User friendly, simple administration. 2. Adapted from a well-established diagnostic interview, the DIS. 3. Developed in Spanish and English simultaneously. 4. Short administration time to detect a possible Major Depressive Episode. 5. Free and easy to obtain.
1. Limited psychometric data. Test-retest reliability has not been examined. 2. While the measure would yield a score on the number of symptoms endorsed, whether the symptoms were present for 2 weeks or more, and whether the symptoms met severity criteria, it does not yield information regarding the frequency or intensity with which individual symptoms are experienced. This is appropriate, given that the measure is meant to be used as a screener, but it does mean that the measure may not be appropriate to examine specific symptom intensity over time. NOT A CON, JUST A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Potential misuse if treated as a diagnostic tool instead of a screening tool, that is, if diagnoses are assigned based solely on the raw score or if decisions are made by someone with limited clinical experience. See specific warnings about this in Miller & Muñoz, 2005, pp. 140-143.
A PsychInfo search (6/05) for “MDE Screener” or “Mood Screener” anywhere revealed that the measure has been referenced in 3 published journal articles. Consultation with the author identified additional articles. Huynh-Nhu, L., Muñoz, R.F., Soto, J.A., Delucchi, K.L., & Ghosh Ippen, C. (2004). Identifying risk for onset of major depressive episodes in low-income Latinas during pregnancy and postpartum. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 26(4), 463-482. Miller, W.R., & Muñoz, R.F. (2005). Controlling your drinking. New York: Guilford Press, 140-143. Muñoz, R.F., Lenert, L.L., Delucchi, K., Stoddard, J., Perez, J.E., Penilla, C, & Perez-Stable, E. (2006). Toward evidence-based Internet interventions: A Spanish/English web site for international smoking cessation trials. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 8, 77-87. Muñoz, R.F., Marin, B.V., Posner, S.F., & Perez-Stable, E.J. (1997). Mood management mail intervention increases abstinence rates for Spanish-speaking Latino smokers. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25(3), 325-343. Muñoz, R.F., McQuaid, J.R., Gonzalez, G.M., Dimas, J., & Rosales, V. (1999). Depression screening in a women's clinic: Using automated Spanish- and English-language voice recognition. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(4), 502-510. Stoddard, J., Delucchi, K.L., Muñoz, R.F., Collins, N.M., Perez-Stable, E.J., Augustson, E., & Lenert, L.L. (2005). Smoking cessation research via the Internet: A feasibility study. Journal of Health Communication, 10, 27-41. Tsai, J.L., Pole, N., Levenson, R., & Muñoz, R.F. (2003). The effects of depression on the emotional responses of Spanish-speaking Latinas. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9(1), 49-63. Other Related References Le, H.N., & Muñoz, R.F. (1998). The Maternal Mood Screener (MMS). Unpublished questionnaire, University of California, San Francisco.
The author provided feedback, which was integrated, as well as permission to post the measure on the NCTSN website.