Measures Registry

Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2)

Description

The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) is a brief version of the PHQ-9 measure. It measures the frequency of depressed mood and anhedonia over the past two weeks with just two items.

Purpose

This brief questionnaire is intended to be used to rapidly detect the first stages of depression. It is quick to administer, and can be distributed to large amounts of individuals rapidly.

Population
Adults
Year of Publication
2003
Reference

Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2003). The Patient Health Questionnaire-2: Validity of a two-item depression screener. Medical Care, 41(11), 1284-1292. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.MLR.0000093487.78664.3C

Number of Items
2
Scale Types (Likert=Likert Type; MC=Multiple Choice; T/F=True/False; OR=Open Response)
Likert Type
Likert: 0 = Not at all, 1 = Several days, 2 = More than half the days, 3 = Nearly every day
Subscales
N/A
Scoring
Scores across the two items are summed, with total scores ranging from 0-6. A score of 3 or greater indicates a recommendation for further assessment for a depressive disorder.
Administration
Self-Administered
Readability/ Literacy Level
N/A
Languages
English
Reliability
N/A
Validity

The sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios for each cutpoint score are provided in Table 2 of the source article. Examination of these values demonstrated a strong association between increasing PHQ-2 scores and the likelihood of depressive disorders.

Construct validity was measured by assessing the association between the PHQ-2 and similar scales, with specific results provided in Table 3 of the source article. The results demonstrated a strong association between the PHQ-2 and all six SF-20 scales.

Limitations

The PHQ-9 should be administered as well if participants meet the criteria for depression via the PHQ-2. Caution should be used with this measure given that the appropriate cutoff point is hard to determine given that the measure has so few items.

Availability
Publicly Available
Cost
Free
Other Considerations

N/A

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