Validity of the mental health component scale of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (MCS-12) as measure of common mental disorders in the general population

Abstract This study assessed the screening utility of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey's (SF-12) mental health component scale (MCS-12) for diagnosable depression and anxiety disorders in a general population sample, and thus, the validity of this scale as a measure of mental health in epid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry research 2007-07, Vol.152 (1), p.63-71
Main Authors: Gill, Sarah C, Butterworth, Peter, Rodgers, Bryan, Mackinnon, Andrew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis
Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology
Area Under Curve
Australia
Biological and medical sciences
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depressive Disorder - diagnosis
Depressive Disorder - epidemiology
Female
GHQ-12
Health Surveys
Humans
ICD-10
K10
Male
Mass Screening
Medical sciences
Mental disorder
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Middle Aged
Personality Assessment - statistics & numerical data
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve
Reproducibility of Results
ROC Curve
SF-12
Techniques and methods
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Summary:Abstract This study assessed the screening utility of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey's (SF-12) mental health component scale (MCS-12) for diagnosable depression and anxiety disorders in a general population sample, and thus, the validity of this scale as a measure of mental health in epidemiological research. Data were from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing ( N = 10,504). Diagnoses were made using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The MCS-12 was compared to other brief scales: the RAND Mental Health Component scale (RAND MHC-12, an alternative scoring method for the MCS-12), the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10 and K6), and an estimate of the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5). The MCS-12 and RAND MHC-12 were equally able to discriminate respondents with the target diagnoses. The MCS-12 performed better than the GHQ-12, and equally to the K6 for diagnoses of depression, though not anxiety disorders, where the K6 showed greater utility. The K10 out-performed the MCS-12 for all diagnoses. Areas under receiver operating characteristics curves (AUC) indicated that the MCS-12 is valid measure of mental health in epidemiological research, and a useful screening tool for both depression (AUC = 0.92) and anxiety disorders (AUC = 0.83).
ISSN:0165-1781
1872-7123
DOI:10.1016/j.psychres.2006.11.005