Short Form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS-SF): Psychometric information.

TLDR

The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a widely used measure of psychological distress, but its 65‑item length can limit its use in physically ill or otherwise impaired populations. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a 37‑item short form of the POMS (POMS‑SF). The study analyzed data from 600 respondents drawn from five clinical populations and a healthy adult sample. The POMS‑SF showed internal consistency comparable to the original and correlations with total mood disturbance and subscales exceeding .95, indicating it is an excellent brief alternative.

Abstract

The Profile of Mood States (POMS; P. M. McNair, M. Lorr, & L. F. Droppleman, 1981) is a commonly used measure of psychological distress. The length of this scale (65 items) may limit its use with physically ill or otherwise impaired populations or prevent its inclusion in multiinstrument assessment protocols. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a shorter, 37-item version of the POMS developed by S. Shacham (1983; POMS-SF). Data were provided by 600 respondents representing five different clinical samples and one sample of healthy adults. For all samples, internal consistency estimates for the POMS-SF subscales were very comparable to those for the original POMS. Furthermore, correlations between total mood disturbance and subscale scores on the POMS-SF and those from the original POMS all exceeded .95. The POMS-SF is considered an excellent alternative to the original POMS when a brief measure of psychological distress is desired.