Validity of the Children's Moods, Fears and Worries Questionnaire in a clinical setting

BACKGROUND: The Children's Moods, Fears and Worries Questionnaire (CMFWQ) is a recently developed parent-report measure for detecting young children's internalising difficulties. This study evaluated construct and criterion-related validity with a clinical sample. METHOD: The measure was completed by 30 mothers of children aged between 18 months and 7 years referred to hospital clinical psychology services. RESULTS: The CMFWQ demonstrated sound convergent and discriminant validity and a clinical cut-point was established, which optimally discriminated between children with internalising problems and those within the normal range. CONCLUSION: The CMFWQ has potential value for identifying young children in need of intervention for internalising problems.