Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001 The PHQ-9 is a 9-item self-report measure assessing depressive symptoms in adults.  The PHQ-9 can be used as a screening tool a diagnostic tool, and to monitor symptom changes over time. There exists a separate version of the PHQ-9 for adolescents within the Patient Health Questionnaire-Adolescent Version (PHQ-A; Johnson et al., 2002). Sample items include, “ Little interest or pleasure in doing things” and “Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless.” Each item is rated on a scale from zero (“not at all”) to three (“nearly every day”). Total scores range from 0-27. Meta-analysis of the PHQ-9 diagnostic accuracy compared to independent mental health professional diagnosis demonstrates good criterion validity with a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 94%.   The PHQ is also validated as an 8- and 2-item measure to assess depression severity. The measures are available online (Stable Resource Toolk...

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a self-report measure designed to screen depressive symptoms. It takes one to five minutes to complete and roughly the same amount of time for a clinician to review the responses. The PHQ-9 is available in multiple languages. Spitzer, R.L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J.B.W., & Patient Health Questionnaire Primary Care Study Group. (1999). Validation and utility of a self-report version of PRIME-MD: The PHQ primary care study. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 282(18), 1737-1744. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.282.18.1737 Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R.L., & Williams, J.B.W. (2001). The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606-613. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x Martin, A., Rief, W., Klaiberg, A., & Braehler, E. (2006). Validity of the brief patient health questionnaire mood scale (PHQ-9) in the general p...