Computer-administered visual analogue mood scales: rapid and valid assessment of mood in HIV positive individuals

Studies of cognition in patients with the human immunodeficiency virus must take into account the effects of mood. Standardised mood-rating questionnaires are oftentimes consuming and fatiguing for such patients and so may be omitted from experiments. Visual analogue rating scales for affective state are rapidly administered and are quite acceptable to subjects. In 64 HIV seropositive homosexual or bisexual males, measures of anxiety and depression derived from two computer-administered visual analogue scales were compared with anxiety and depression ratings from the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression. Analogue ratings of anxiety correlated .80 with STAI State anxiety and .58 with STAI Trait anxiety measures and analogue ratings of depression correlated .78 with CES-Depression measures. Analogue ratings may differentiate situational anxiety and depression more effectively and so are valid tools in assessment of anxiety and depression in HIV seropositive subjects. These may be of particular value when limitations of time or patient illness require a rapid assessment of mood variables in neuropsychiatric research.