Development and Validation of the Mood Instability Questionnaire-Trait (MIQ-T).

Joohyun Yoon,Sunghee Oh,Ye Rim Kim,Nayoung Cho,Woojae Myung,Kwang Ho Park,Chan Woo Lee,Jiung Park,Hyeon-A Yu,Wonyun Lee,Hyun A Ryoo,Yun Seong Park,Yoonjeong Jang,Ji Yoon Park,Tae Hyon Ha,Seok Joo Hong

doi:10.3390/medicina57080838

Joohyun Yoon, Sunghee Oh + Show 14 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina57080838

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Abstract

Background and objectives: Mood instability (MI) is a stable trait associated with psychiatric disorders, yet there is a lack of tools to measure MI. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Mood Instability Questionnaire-Trait (MIQ-T) to evaluate MI in mood disorder patients. Material and methods: Items were taken from various established questionnaires to create an initial list of MIQ-T questions. Data from 309 psychiatric patients (n = 309; 62 major depressive disorder, 58 bipolar I disorder, and 189 bipolar II disorder) were gathered from their medical records and were utilized in an exploratory factor analysis to clarify the underlying components of MI. Then, anonymous survey data from 288 individuals from the general population were included in the analysis as a comparison group. Associations between MIQ-T and other previously validated clinical instruments for mood disorders were examined to test external validity. Results: The exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the five-factor structure (Lability, Upward Tendency, Downward Tendency, Childhood Instability, and Seasonality) of 59 items was the most appropriate with clear, cohesive features. MIQ-T exhibited high internal consistency (α = 0.96) and moderate to strong correlations with other previously validated clinical instruments, which were consistent with theoretical predictions, providing evidence of criterion validity. Short forms were also created to address the high internal consistency value, which can indicate redundancy, and to increase the approachability of the measure. We found that the patients with bipolar II disorder had higher MIQ-T scores than the patients with bipolar I disorder or major depressive disorder and the comparison group. Conclusion: Together, these findings validate the newly developed MIQ-T as an instrument of mood instability. MIQ-T can be a potential research tool for mood disorder.

Highlights

Mood instability (MI; called mood variability or affective instability) is a stable trait that plays an important role in psychopathology [1]
Kochman et al [4] found that children and adolescents who demonstrated MI were more likely to progress from major depressive disorder (MDD) to bipolar disorder (BD) and more likely to report suicidality
This study describes the development and initial validation of a new questionnaire, named Mood Instability Questionnaire-Trait (MIQ-T), that encompasses all aspects of MI

Summary

Introduction

Mood instability (MI; called mood variability or affective instability) is a stable trait that plays an important role in psychopathology [1]. Qiu, Akiskal, Kelsoe, and Greenwood [5] reported that MI was found to be associated with increased aggression in bipolar I disorder (BD I) patients. Mood instability (MI) is a stable trait associated with psychiatric disorders, yet there is a lack of tools to measure MI. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Mood Instability Questionnaire-Trait (MIQ-T) to evaluate MI in mood disorder patients. Data from 309 psychiatric patients (n = 309; 62 major depressive disorder, 58 bipolar I disorder, and 189 bipolar II disorder) were gathered from their medical records and were utilized in an exploratory factor analysis to clarify the underlying components of MI. Associations between MIQ-T and other previously validated clinical instruments for mood disorders were examined to test external validity. MIQ-T can be a potential research tool for mood disorder

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