Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Association Between Sleep Quality and Cognitive Symptoms in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder
Published on: April 26, 2024
Distinguishing between anxiety and depression using the Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire (MASQ)
Joe A Buckby1, Alison R Yung, Elizabeth M Cosgrave
1ORYGEN Research Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
Objective:
To examine the discriminant validity of the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ) in a sample of young help-seekers.
Method:
136 young people referred to a psychiatric service completed a diagnostic interview and the MASQ.
Results:
Participants were classified according to diagnostic status: Mood Only; Anxiety Only; Mixed Anxiety-Depression; Other DSM-IV Disorder; and No Axis-I Disorder. Participants in the Mood Only and Mixed groups scored significantly higher than the remaining groups on all MASQ scales. Participants in the Anxiety Only group did not score significantly higher than participants in the Other DSM-IV or No Diagnosis groups for any scale.
Conclusion:
Our finding supported the specificity of the depression-specific scale, however the purported anxiety-specific scale did not distinguish between those with and those without Anxiety disorders. It was hypothesised that in clinical samples, the MASQ may measure general psychological distress.
Related Concept Videos
Depressive Disorders: MDD and Dysthymia
Anxiety: Overview
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Social Anxiety Disorder
Depression: Overview