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The Manchester Color Wheel: validation in secondary school pupils
Helen R Carruthers1, Linda Magee, Susan Osborne
1Department of Medical Illustration, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
BMC Medical Research Methodology
|September 7, 2012
Summary
The Manchester Color Wheel (MCW) effectively assesses adolescent mood and mental health, correlating color choices with anxiety and depression scores. Engaging in activities like sports or music can positively influence mood color selection.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Adolescent Health
- Non-verbal Communication
Background:
- Investigating non-verbal methods to improve patient communication, particularly for sensitive clinical issues.
- Developed the Manchester Color Wheel (MCW), an instrument using positive, neutral, and negative colors to assess psychological status.
- Validated MCW in adults with anxiety/depression, showing responsiveness, reproducibility, and capacity to identify positive mental states.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the Manchester Color Wheel (MCW) in an adolescent population within a secondary school setting.
- To assess the utility of the MCW in rapidly evaluating adolescent mental health and mood.
- To explore the relationship between mood color choice and standardized measures of anxiety and depression.
Main Methods:
- Administered the MCW and the Hospital Anxiety Depression (HAD) questionnaire to 620 pupils (aged 11-17).
- Conducted an experimental component with 197 pupils to assess mood color changes induced by sport, music, or art activities compared to controls.
- Analyzed the correlation between MCW color choices and HAD scores, and the impact of activities on mood color selection.
Main Results:
- A significant association was found between negative mood color choices and higher HAD depression scores (62.5% vs 14.5%, p < 0.001).
- Positive mood color choices were significantly higher in normal HAD pupils compared to depressed pupils (48.9% vs 18.8%, p < 0.001).
- Participation in sport and music activities led to a significant increase in positive mood color choices compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- The MCW is a potentially useful tool for the rapid and easy assessment of various health issues in large adolescent populations.
- The findings suggest the MCW's utility in educational settings for understanding and potentially influencing adolescent well-being.
- The study confirms the MCW's responsiveness to mood changes induced by engaging activities.
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