For current study purposes, 2003, 2004 and 2006 data were merged into one. The finding of variation in the optimal threshold of the general health questionnaire ghq across different settings has proved difficult to explain. Mental health at individual and organizational level 12 1gabriele giorgi, jose maria leon perez, andrea castiello dantonio, 1francisco javier fiz perez, giulio arcangeli, vincenzo cupelli and nicola mucci3 3,4 1department of psychology, european university of rome. Apr 24, 2008 the 12item general health questionnaire ghq 12 is used routinely as a unidimensional measure of psychological morbidity. Correlation of the ghq 28 is high with the clinical interview scale r0.
Scaled general health questionnaire28 ghq28 spinal cord. General health questionnaire general health questionnaire ghq brief description the general health questionnaire was developed in england as a screening instrument to identify psychological distress among adults in primary care settings. General health questionnaire ghq developed in the 1970s, the general health questionnaire is a method to quantify the risk of developing psychiatric disorders. However, some researchers reported that many university freshmen recently develop june. The ghq 12 classifies each individual in the dataset as a case or a noncase. Suitable for all ages from adolescent upwards not children, it assesses the respondents current. Validity and testretest reliability of the italian version of the 12item. The different versions enable researchers and clinicians to select the version most appropriate to their individual requirements.
A crosssectional twophase epidemiological survey was used in a study of nonpsychotic psychiatric. A high ghq score preceded the onset of lbp, in such a way that a high score at the immediately previous follow up increased risk of lbp at the next follow up. We investigated the use of the shortform general health questionnaire ghq 12 as a possible screening tool. Many factoranalytic studies have reported that the ghq12 has two or three dimensions, threatening its validity. With the 0011 scoring scheme, optimum discrimination occurred near ghq 34, giving a specificity of 0.
What cutoff do we use to categorize ghq 12 0123 into no. General health questionnaire occupational medicine oxford. If you want to use aliases for the ranking display, please set the settings all result alias for the ranking display. Pdf using the 12item general health questionnaire ghq. The 12 item general health questionnaire ghq 12 has been widely used in many settings and languages, and includes positively and negatively worded items. Evaluating cutpoints for the mhi5 and mcs using the ghq12. Wording effects and the factor structure of the 12item. Oct 14, 2008 the twelveitem general health questionnaire ghq 12 is intended to screen for general nonpsychotic psychiatric morbidity. Jan 01, 2007 using the alternative binary scoring method with the two least symptomatic answers scoring 0 and the two most symptomatic answers scoring 1, the 28 and 30item versions classify any score exceeding the threshold value of 4 as achieving caseness. Aug 30, 2009 how do i score the general health questionnaire 12 item. General health questionnaire ghq statistics solutions. The ghq manual notes that it is not appropriate for use with children but that it. It has been widely used and, as a result, translated into many languages and extensively validated in general and clinical populations worldwide. Slovakia, a central european country, is joining the.
Designed for use by doctors, psychiatrists and researchers, the ghq is ideal for use in community and nonpsychiatric settings. Estimating prevalence of anxiety and mood disorder in survey data. The general health questionnaire ghq 12 detects non severe psychiatric illnesses. It is widely used in clinical practice, epidemiological research and for research in psychology 24. Pdf previous research has suggested multiple factor structures for. The 12 item version, with its ease of administration and validity as a screening measure, has been in. Hilliers 28 item scaled version of the general health questionnaire. Since the dimensionality and the related psychometric properties of the 12 item general health questionnaire ghq 12 are still under debate, the present study compares different factor solutions from the literature to determine which shows the best fit and to investigate reliability and construct validity. The ghq is available in several versions to suit different applications.
The general health questionaire ghq 12 in a sample of italian workers. Reliability and validity of general health questionnaire ghq. Will you wait for the virus to kill you, or commit suicide first. Our aim is to find the cutpoints on the mhi5 and mcs that imitate the ghq 12 cutpoint as closely as possible. Any score exceeding the threshold value of 4 is classed as achieving psychiatric. Does the 12item general health questionnaire contain. Am going to analyze population based mental health study that has used ghq 12 likert scoring 0 12 3. Nov, 2003 the objective of this study was to translate and to test the reliability and validity of the 12item general health questionnaire ghq 12 in iran. In recent years the 12 item general health questionnaire ghq 12 has been extensively used as a short screening instrument, producing results that are comparable to longer versions of the ghq. Comparison of scoring methods and thresholds of the general. The validity of two versions of the ghq in the who study of.
The effectiveness of casefinding for mental health problems in. Nov 11, 2004 the 12 item general health questionnaire ghq 12 is widely used as a unidimensional instrument, but factor analyses tended to suggest that it contains two or three factors. Pdf the impact of ambiguous response categories on the factor. Indeed, working in unhealthy organizations appears to be particularly risky for workers. Bmc public health research article open access the reliability of the twelveitem general health questionnaire ghq 12 under realistic assumptions matthew hankins1,2,3 address. However, few studies have measured the mental health of chinese professionals or explored the factor structure of the ghq12 through investigations of young chinese civil servants. The ghq manual notes that it is not appropriate for use with children but that it has been used with adolescents goldberg.
Authors sir david goldberg and paul williams 1970 interview with sir david goldberg validity and reliability the reported cronbach alpha coefficient for the ghq is a range of 0. Pdf the structure of the general health questionnaire ghq12. American psychiatric association diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. The general health questionnaire28 is frequently used as an indicator of psychological wellbeing and this latter construct resembles the psychological dimension of quality of life goldberg and hillier 1979, sanderman and stewart 1990, euridiss 1990, krol et al. The validity of the ghq 12 was compared with the ghq 28 in a world health organization study of psychological disorders in general health care. It is possible that these dimensions are the result of the wording of the ghq12, namely its division into positively phrased pp and negatively phrased. No values have been reported for the responsiveness of the ghq 28 for the sci population.
This analysis aimed to examine the optimal threshold of the ghq, its variability and relationship with prevalence of psychiatric disorder. The ghq28 is a scaled version, yielding four subscores, each based on seven items and a total score. Although commonly treated as a general index, the definition of its factorial structure is cause for debate. This paper used primary data obtained from a crosssectional household study of tannery workers from jajmau area of the city of kanpur in northern india, which was conducted during january. Two consecutive cohorts 2006 and 2007 were invited to complete the ghq 12. The score was used to generate a total score ranging from 0 to 36. The general health questionnaire ghq is a screening device for identifying minor psychiatric disorders in the general population and within community or nonpsychiatric clinical settings such as primary care or general medical outpatients. Suitable for all ages from adolescent upwards but not children, it assesses the respondents current state and asks if that differs from his or her. Validity coefficients of the 12item general health questionnaire ghq12 were. The internal consistency of the ghq12 was good cronbachs. This tool was created from the 12item general health questionnaire and antonovskys.
To compare the scoring methods and thresholds of the 12 item general health questionnaire ghq 12 and the edinburgh postnatal depression scale epds in english women, and to determine which threshold and scoring method provides the closest correlation of caseness of postnatal depression in a nationally representative sample of english women. A database was built from data collected through a survey of workers in italian industrial and public firms. For me, i plan to kill myself instead of wait to become infected. The 12item general health questionnaire ghq12 psicothema. We have tested three different factor models of the ghq 12. Jul 07, 2011 how is the scoring performed on a ghq 12 form. The purpose of this study was to test the reliability, validity and factor structure of ghq 12 questionnaire on male tannery workers of india. Employing the recommended method of scoring ranging from 0 to 12, the mean ghq score was 3. The general health questionnaire ghq is a selfadministered screening device for identifying minor psychiatric disorders in the general population and within community or nonpsychiatric clinical settings such as primary care or general medical outpatients. Abstract the 12item general health questionnaire is widely used as a screening tool in nonpsychiatric setting. This instrument targets two areas the inability to carry out normal functions and the appearance of distress to assess wellbeing in a person. Early detection of vulnerable students might direct pastoral care and remedial support to where it is needed.
Main version of the ghq, used to identify cases for more intensive examination. The general health questionnaire ghq is a psychometric screening tool to identify common psychiatric conditions. The structure of the general health questionnaire ghq12 taylor. Since the ghq12 is a brief, simple, easy to complete, and its application in research settings as a screening tool is well documented. Results from the roc curve indicated that the ghq12 yielded greater accuracy when identifying mood and anxiety disorders than when identifying all mental disorders as a whole. A simple method for assessing the mental health status of. The 12item general health questionnaire ghq 12 is a commonly used screening instrument for measuring mental disorders. Developed in the 1970s, the general health questionnaire is a method to quantify the risk of developing psychiatric disorders. Overview of the most relevant general health questionnaire12 factor models. Ghq30 is a selfreport screening instrument to detect current, diagnosable psychiatric disorders.
Using the 12 item general health questionnaire ghq 12 to assess the psychological health of malaysian college students. University of groningen selfrated health and quality of life. Validation of the general health questionnaire ghq12. In a new document, 234 pieces of data are inserted in the following cases. It has been translated and validated in at least two languages in addition to english, including spanish and persian. We should like to know if you have any medical complaints, and how your health has been in general, over the past few weeks. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to reveal the factor structure of ghq 12. Ghq 12 was scored by binary, chronic and likert scoring method. Using a standard forwardbackward translation procedure, the english language version of the questionnaire was translated into persian iranian language. The general health questionnaire ghq12 by goldberg 1976 is a selfadministered questionnaire designed to detect persons that are symptomatic or at risk of developing the common, nonpsychotic mental health problems associated with depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and social dysfunction jackson, 2007. Jul 24, 2007 psychological distress was measured at two years after the earthquake by using ghq 12 in 2,107 subjects 99. This instrument targets two areas the inability to carry out normal. The factor structure of the twelve item general health.
Consecutive patients from a random sample of gps were screened using the general health questionnaire ghq12. The ghq 12 item questionnaire is a quick, reliable and sensitive short form ideal for research studies. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders is the prominent. A well validated scale, such as the ghq 12, with an associated cutpoint to distinguish cases from noncases is a good alternative.
An alternative scoring method offered by goldberg and williams is the ghq scoring method, which transforms the scale into a yesno scale by recoding 0 and 1 as 0, and 2 and 3 as 1. Pdf the general health questionnaire ghq12 is a popular. The 12item general health questionnaire ghq12 is a selfreport measure of psychological morbidity, in tended to detect psychiatric disorders in community set tings and nonpsychiatric settings 1. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that the ghq 12 assesses. The general health questionnaire ghq12 is a popular measure of psychological distress. Not much is known about the usefulness of the ghq 12 factors, if they exist, in revealing betweenpatient differences in clinical states and healthrelated quality of life.
The ghq focuses on the clients ability to carry out normal functions and the appearance of any new disturbing phenomena. It includes especially an assessment of the inability to carry out ones normal health functions and the appearance of new phenomena of a distressing nature. It is scored based on the four possible answers for each item. What is the general health questionnaire12 assessing. Factor structure of the general health questionnaire ghq12. The general health questionaire ghq12 in a sample of. Understanding general health questionnaire ghq28 score and. The questionnaire comprises a number of questions, each with a fourpoint likert scale for responses. Wording effects and the factor structure of the 12item general health questionnaire ghq 12 j. Cghqscoring is a relatively specialised method and is useful only when it is important not to miss cases with longstanding disorders. Then a sample of young people aged 18 to 25 years old completed the questionnaire. In scoring the ghq, the four columns ranging from not at all to much more than usual are coded 0, 1, 2 or 3.
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