Psychological Reports, 1990, 66, 509-510.
O Psychological Reports 1990
PROFILE O F MOOD STATES: AUSTRALIAN NORMATIVE DATA ' KATHLEEN MOORE, ROBB STANLEY, AND GRAHAM BURROWS
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, AustinlLurundel Hospitals Summary .-The Profile of Mood States was administered to 90 Australian women, 30 depressed, 30 anxious, and 30 nonpsychiatric controls. Both clinical groups scored higher than the McNair, Lorr, and Droppleman (1971) normative samples on the negative mood states and scored lower on Vigor. The means for these groups are presented and compared with the 1971 normative data of McNair, Lorr, and Droppleman.
The Profile of Mood States (McNair, Lorr, & Droppleman, 1971) is recommended by the authors as a measure of mood states in psychiatric outpatients and for research purposes with normal subjects age 18 yr. and older. While this scale is in considerable use, there are no reports relating to Australian normative data. As part of an ongoing study designed to evaluate the habitual and state thinking styles of anxious and depressed patients in comparison to a nonpsychiatric control group, this report provides normative data on the Profile for 90 women: 30 depressed patients, 30 anxious patients, and 30 volunteers with no known psychiatric disorder. Patients in both clinical groups met the appropriate DSM-III-R (APA, 1986) criteria while the control group was composed of volunteer subjects drawn from a range of occupations. Groups were matched on age ( 5 y t ; F,, = ,004, p > .05). The raw data means and standard deviations for the Profile subscales are presented in Table 1. Means and standard deviations in both clinical groups are higher on atl the negative mood states than those reported by McNair, et al. (1971), while the present Vigor scores are lower. It is unclear what diagnostic classificatory system was used in the original study and so no reasons for this difference can be proposed. Each of the Control group means is lower in the present sample than those presented by McNair, et al. for college students, with the exception of Vigor which is scored higher. It is possible that self-report measures such as this may have attracted higher scores amongst student populations, especially if that group was experiencing assessment anxiety. Tension scores for the Depressed group subjects both here and in the McNair, et al. study were elevated to a level comparable to that of the anxious patients. It is not uncommon for depression and anxiety to coexist to 'Requests for reprints should be addressed to Ms. K. Moore, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia.
510
K. MOORE, ETAL.
varying degrees in patients (Baker & Jessop, 1980; Kellner, Simpson, & Winslow, 1972). This same phenomenon might also apply to the elevated depression scores in the anxious patients (Table 1; McNair, et al., 1971). TABLE 1 PROFILEOF MOODSTATES:MEANS AND STANDUD DEVIATIONS, TENSION, DEPRESSION, ANGER,VIGOR,FATIGUE, AND CONFUSION Tension
Group, ns = 30
Fatigue
Confusion
20.10 5.77
14.90 5.71
24.26 6.22
17.67 6.83
16.07 5.09
7.27 4.49
8.03 6.60
5.53 3.33
Depressed
Depresslon
Anger
41.40
Anxious
M SD
Control
M SD
Vigor
It is suggested that the classificatory problems related to the coexistence of anxiety and depression in the clinical patients make the Profile of Mood States more suitable as a screening device for control group subjects with its clinical use limited to confirmation of clinical groups already classified by other means, such as the DSM-111-R (APA, 1986). REFERENCES AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION. Diagnostic and statittical manual of mental disorders. (3rd ed., Rev.) Washington, DC: Author, 1986. BAKER,L. L., & JESSOP,B. A . The psychophysiology of affective verbal and visual processing in dysphoria. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1980, 4, 135-148. KELLNER,R., SIMPSON,G. M., 8( WINSLOW,W.W. The relationship of depressive neurosis to anxiety and somatic symptoms. Psychosomatics, 1972, 13, 358-362. MCNAIR, D. M., LOW, M., & DROPPLEMAN, L. F. Manual: Profile of Mood States. San Diego, CA: Educational & Industrial Testing Service, 1971. Accepted March 8, 1990.
O Psychological Reports 1990
PROFILE O F MOOD STATES: AUSTRALIAN NORMATIVE DATA ' KATHLEEN MOORE, ROBB STANLEY, AND GRAHAM BURROWS
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, AustinlLurundel Hospitals Summary .-The Profile of Mood States was administered to 90 Australian women, 30 depressed, 30 anxious, and 30 nonpsychiatric controls. Both clinical groups scored higher than the McNair, Lorr, and Droppleman (1971) normative samples on the negative mood states and scored lower on Vigor. The means for these groups are presented and compared with the 1971 normative data of McNair, Lorr, and Droppleman.
The Profile of Mood States (McNair, Lorr, & Droppleman, 1971) is recommended by the authors as a measure of mood states in psychiatric outpatients and for research purposes with normal subjects age 18 yr. and older. While this scale is in considerable use, there are no reports relating to Australian normative data. As part of an ongoing study designed to evaluate the habitual and state thinking styles of anxious and depressed patients in comparison to a nonpsychiatric control group, this report provides normative data on the Profile for 90 women: 30 depressed patients, 30 anxious patients, and 30 volunteers with no known psychiatric disorder. Patients in both clinical groups met the appropriate DSM-III-R (APA, 1986) criteria while the control group was composed of volunteer subjects drawn from a range of occupations. Groups were matched on age ( 5 y t ; F,, = ,004, p > .05). The raw data means and standard deviations for the Profile subscales are presented in Table 1. Means and standard deviations in both clinical groups are higher on atl the negative mood states than those reported by McNair, et al. (1971), while the present Vigor scores are lower. It is unclear what diagnostic classificatory system was used in the original study and so no reasons for this difference can be proposed. Each of the Control group means is lower in the present sample than those presented by McNair, et al. for college students, with the exception of Vigor which is scored higher. It is possible that self-report measures such as this may have attracted higher scores amongst student populations, especially if that group was experiencing assessment anxiety. Tension scores for the Depressed group subjects both here and in the McNair, et al. study were elevated to a level comparable to that of the anxious patients. It is not uncommon for depression and anxiety to coexist to 'Requests for reprints should be addressed to Ms. K. Moore, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia.
510
K. MOORE, ETAL.
varying degrees in patients (Baker & Jessop, 1980; Kellner, Simpson, & Winslow, 1972). This same phenomenon might also apply to the elevated depression scores in the anxious patients (Table 1; McNair, et al., 1971). TABLE 1 PROFILEOF MOODSTATES:MEANS AND STANDUD DEVIATIONS, TENSION, DEPRESSION, ANGER,VIGOR,FATIGUE, AND CONFUSION Tension
Group, ns = 30
Fatigue
Confusion
20.10 5.77
14.90 5.71
24.26 6.22
17.67 6.83
16.07 5.09
7.27 4.49
8.03 6.60
5.53 3.33
Depressed
Depresslon
Anger
41.40
Anxious
M SD
Control
M SD
Vigor
It is suggested that the classificatory problems related to the coexistence of anxiety and depression in the clinical patients make the Profile of Mood States more suitable as a screening device for control group subjects with its clinical use limited to confirmation of clinical groups already classified by other means, such as the DSM-111-R (APA, 1986). REFERENCES AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION. Diagnostic and statittical manual of mental disorders. (3rd ed., Rev.) Washington, DC: Author, 1986. BAKER,L. L., & JESSOP,B. A . The psychophysiology of affective verbal and visual processing in dysphoria. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1980, 4, 135-148. KELLNER,R., SIMPSON,G. M., 8( WINSLOW,W.W. The relationship of depressive neurosis to anxiety and somatic symptoms. Psychosomatics, 1972, 13, 358-362. MCNAIR, D. M., LOW, M., & DROPPLEMAN, L. F. Manual: Profile of Mood States. San Diego, CA: Educational & Industrial Testing Service, 1971. Accepted March 8, 1990.
