Correlations between the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the WHOQOL-26 among Japanese University Students

Abstract

In this study, we investigated six types of mood state (tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, vigor, fatigue, and confusion) using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) with 40 Japanese university students. We examined five main quality of life (QOL) domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental health) using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-26). We also examined the total scale score. We examined Spearman’s rank correlations between POMS mood state and QOL scores and compared male and female students’ scores. The results indicated statistically significant correlations between all six mood states and three broad WHOQOL-26 domains (physical health, psychological health, and social relationships). Moreover, the relationship between mood state and QOL showed a gender difference. There were correlations between mood states and the QOL domains of social relationships and environmental health for males. In contrast, mood state correlated with the QOL domains of physical health and psychological health in females. The findings suggest that gender-specific health provision is needed to care for young university students in Japan. However, our study has several limitations; therefore, larger-scale studies with older subjects are needed in the future.