The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire as a measure of mood seasonality: a prospective validation study

Abstract 

The aim of this study was to test the validity of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) as a measure of winter pattern seasonality of mood in the general population. The criterion was four repeated measurements of mood, collected in summer and winter each year for 2 years in a longitudinal questionnaire study. To account for the imperfect reliability of SPAQ reports, the SPAQ was completed on two occasions, and aggregate SPAQ variables created. Three variables from the SPAQ were tested for their correlation with prospectively measured lowering of mood in winter: seasonal pattern type, Global Seasonality Score (GSS) and self-reported problems with seasonal variation. The sampling frame was the electoral roll in a suburban region of Melbourne, Australia. Complete four-wave data were obtained from 304 respondents (53.9% female). Seasonal pattern type (self-report as feeling worst in winter months) was the only SPAQ variable to show a significant association with prospectively measured winter pattern seasonality of mood. It is provisionally concluded that the SPAQ can function as a measure of seasonality of mood in the normal population, but that validity has only been confirmed for the relatively gross variable of seasonal pattern type.

Keywords:  Circa-annual rhythms, Winter depressions, Psychometrics