Brief Description
The Mood and Feelings Questionnaire - Child - Short Version (MFQ-Child-Short) is a 13-item self-report tool designed to assess depressive symptoms in children and adolescents aged 6 to 17. The MFQ-Child-Short asks respondents to reflect on their feelings and behaviors over the past two weeks, with each item addressing different aspects of mood, such as sadness, irritability, and loss of interest in activities. Response options are "Not true" (0), "Sometimes" (1), and "True" (2). The questionnaire is an efficient tool for screening depression in clinical and school settings and helps identify children who may need further evaluation or intervention.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
13
Age Range for Administration
6-17
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Every two weeks
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
Scoring the MFQ-Child-Short involves summing the responses to the 13 items, with total scores ranging from 0 to 26. Higher scores indicate the presence of more severe depressive symptoms. Higher scores generally suggest a greater likelihood of clinical depression and the need for further assessment. Blueprint uses a cut-off score of 8 or above to indicate the potential presence of clinically significant depressive symptoms and the need for further evaluation (Angold et al., 1995; Thapar & McGuffin, 1998).
Blueprint Adjustments
N/A
Clinical Considerations
Estimated time for completion: 3-5 minutes
In addition to the MFQ-Child-Short version, the MFQ-Parent Report short and long versions and the MFQ-Child-Long version are all available in the Blueprint Assessment Library in both English and Spanish.
The MFQ-Child-Short is not intended to be a standalone diagnostic tool but rather a first step in identifying children who may benefit from a more comprehensive mental health evaluation.
Some studies suggest different cutoffs based on demographic or clinical factors. For example, higher cutoffs (e.g., 10 or above) might improve specificity in identifying major depressive disorder and lower cutoffs (e.g., 5 or above) might increase sensitivity to detect early signs of depression in high-risk populations.
Citation
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