Validity of the Children's Moods, Fears and Worries Questionnaire in a clinical setting

Vanessa Andrijic; Jordana Bayer; Lesley Bretherton

doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588.2012.00655.x

Validity of the Children's Moods, Fears and Worries Questionnaire in a clinical setting

Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2013 Feb;18(1):11-17. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-3588.2012.00655.x. Epub 2012 Mar 2.

Authors

Vanessa Andrijic¹, Jordana Bayer², Lesley Bretherton³

Affiliations

¹ Psychology Department, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
² Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
³ Psychology Department, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 32847258
DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-3588.2012.00655.x

Abstract

Background: The Children's Moods, Fears and Worries Questionnaire (CMFWQ) is a recently developed parent-report measure for detecting young children's internalising difficulties. This study evaluated construct and criterion-related validity with a clinical sample.

Method: The measure was completed by 30 mothers of children aged between 18 months and 7 years referred to hospital clinical psychology services.

Results: The CMFWQ demonstrated sound convergent and discriminant validity and a clinical cut-point was established, which optimally discriminated between children with internalising problems and those within the normal range.

Conclusion: The CMFWQ has potential value for identifying young children in need of intervention for internalising problems.

Keywords: Children's Moods, Fears and Worries Questionnaire; Internalising problems; questionnaire measures.