The emoji current mood and experience scale: the development and initial validation of an ultra-brief, literacy independent measure of psychological health

Abstract

Background There is increasing interest in measuring wellbeing and mental health in a range of settings and services outside conventional mental health care settings. However, ensuring that measurement does not intrude on the primary service activity whilst promoting inclusion through minimizing literacy demands, requires ultra-brief and easy to use tools. Aims To develop and test a brief emoji-based tool to assess mental health, wellbeing, resilience and community connection. Method In study 1, 672 adults completed an online questionnaire study comprising a new emoji measure and established questionnaires assessing mental health, resilience, community connection and wellbeing. In study 2, 415 participants completed a paper-and-pencil version of the emoji measure, mental health and community connection, with 212 individuals providing data at a second time point. Results Multidimensional scaling revealed a meaningful structure to the emoji measure with validity demonstrated through relationships to existing scales. Stability over time and sensitivity to change were also demonstrated. Conclusions The emoji-based measure presented here provides an ultra-brief measure of mood and current experience, with minimal literacy demands on participants. Further research is now needed to test the properties and utility of the scale with other participant groups.