Evidence of validity of the Symptom Assessment Scale Mood Disorder for Adolescents

There are few tools for assessing symptoms of mood disorders in adolescents. Therefore, this study aims to present the construction and evidences of construct and convergent validity of the Mood Scale for Brazilian Teens. To elaborate the items, eight health field professionals and 24 adolescents were interviewed. In the search of validity, the sample was of 1093 participants (mean age=14.4), 54 % women. The scales used were the Beck Scale for Depression, Hopelessness, and Suicidal Ideation. Exploratory factor analysis extracted three factors (depressed mood, subjective well-being and mania and suicide risk). The scale consisted of 79 items and the total explained variance was 27.65 %. There was a significant gender difference in the third factor. Regarding age, there were significant interactions between the mania and risk of suicide factors. The three factors were correlated with scales of depression and hopelessness. The results indicate evidence of construct and convergent validity for the Mood Scale for Adolescents.