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(Clinicians can download an MDQ for office use from the Primary Care Providers Resource Center on this site.)

Mood Disorders Questionnaire

This is a test for bipolar disorder developed by a team of leading bipolar researchers*.  Remember there is another test for bipolar disorder, the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale, which gives a result more consistent with the "mood spectrum" way of thinking described on this website; I recommend starting with that test.  

However, the MDQ is more widely known and used.  You can take both, if you wish.  You'll learn how to score this test when you're done, but remember, even a "positive" test result does not mean you have bipolar disorder.  You'll see why when we come to scoring your results.   

Here are the 3 sections.  For section 1 write down the numbers 1-13 on a piece of paper and answer each question with a yes or no (or you can just print this page).  Answer section 2 with a yes or no.  Choose the answer in section 3 that best fits your situation and write it down. 

1. Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and (while not on drugs or alcohol) ...    
  ...you felt so good or so hyper that other people thought you were not your normal self or you were so hyper that you got into trouble?  Yes No
  ...you were so irritable that you shouted at people or started fights or arguments? Yes No
  ...you felt much more self-confident than usual? Yes No
  ...you got much less sleep than usual and found you didn't really miss it? * Yes No
  ...you were much more talkative or spoke faster than usual? Yes No
  ...thoughts raced through your head or you couldn't slow you mind down? Yes No
  ...you were so easily distracted by things around you that you had trouble concentrating or staying on track? Yes No
  ...you had much more energy than usual? Yes No
  ...you were much more active or did many more things than usual? Yes No
  ...you were much more social or outgoing than usual; for example, you telephoned friends in the middle of the night? Yes No
  ...you were much more interested in sex than usual? Yes No
  ...you did things that were unusual for you or that other people might have thought were excessive, foolish, or risky? Yes No
  ...spending money got you or your family into trouble? Yes No
2.

 

 If you checked YES to more than one of the above, have several of these ever happened during the same period of time? 

       YES                                    NO
3.

 

 

 How much of a problem did any of these cause you -- like being unable to work/; having family, money, or legal troubles; getting into arguments or fights? 

No Problem         Minor Problem          Moderate Problem            Serious Problem  

 

* [in my opinion, this may be misleading: many of my patients who have clearly improved on mood stabilizers did indeed "miss their sleep" terribly, getting 3-4 hours of broken sleep and hating it -- Dr. Phelps]

 

Scoring the Questionnaire  

 

*Who came up with this test?  Some of you might recognize names of authors who endorse a broader view than "DSM" criteria, yet accept this screening tool as sufficiently sensitive:

Hirschfeld RM, Williams JB, Spitzer RL, Calabrese JR, Flynn L, Keck PE Jr, Lewis L, McElroy SL, Post RM, Rapport DJ, Russell JM, Sachs GS, Zajecka J
Am J Psych 157(11):1875 (appendix 1), November 2000.

Read this article abstract if you wish.

 

 

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