VAMS™

Visual Analog Mood Scales™

Purpose: Assesses internal mood states in neurologically impaired adults in medical and psychiatric settings

Format: Paper and pencil

Age range: 18 years to 94 years

Time: 5 minutes

DETAILS:

The VAMS is a reliable and valid measure of eight specific mood states: Afraid, Confused, Sad, Angry, Energetic, Tired, Happy, and Tense. This simple, brief test places minimal cognitive or linguistic demands on the respondent and is appropriate for neurologically impaired individuals or those who are unable to complete more verbally or cognitively demanding instruments.

Because of its standardized approach and the existing normative data from 425 healthy adults and 290 psychiatric inpatients and outpatients, the VAMS can be used for a variety of applications, including repeated assessment of mood states to monitor treatment efficacy, screening for mood disorder in primary care settings, and screening for mood disorder in patients with neurologic illness.