The Maudsley 3-item visual analogue scale (M3VAS): Longitudinal validation of a new measure to capture depression

Abstract

AbstractThe existing ‘gold standard’ assessments of depression suffer various issues, which include the evaluation of constructs extraneous to the core symptoms of the illness, and low sensitivity to change over time. Members of our team developed a new, simple visual analogue scale that aims to address these issues (M3VAS). Initial validation of the scale demonstrated good internal consistency and convergent validity. Still, we have not yet investigated how well it assesses changes in the severity of depressive symptoms over time. This project will analyse data from a longitudinal study (Hampsey et al., 2022), aiming to ascertain whether the M3VAS is sensitive to change i.e., how well it detects either a worsening or improvement of symptoms over a number of weeks (repeated measures). Validating this scale’s longitudinal validity could provide a better way for future longitudinal (observational and interventional) studies to identify changes in the severity of depressive illness.