Reliability, validity and the structure of the General Health Questionnaire in a Chinese context

SYNOPSISThe 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the 24-item Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), and a Chinese version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were administered to 225 English-speaking Chinese. The GHQ was found to have high internal consistency as a scale and to assess 5 dimensions of psychopathology: anxiety, inadequate coping, depression, insomnia, and social dysfunctioning. As a brief screening instrument, it correlated 0·49 with the SRQ. In the ‘case–non-case’ classification, it yielded a concordance rate of above 75% with the SRQ. Using the MMPI modal profiles derived from classification research as criterion measures, sensitivity, specificity and correct classification rates were above 70%. Implications for future research with the GHQ are discussed.

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Anxiety and depression in athletes assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) - a systematic scoping review

South African Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.17159/2078-516x/2021/v33i1a10679 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nur Armino ◽

Vincent Gouttebarge ◽

Stephen Mellalieu ◽

Ruan Schlebusch ◽

JP Van Wyk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

General Health ◽

General Health Questionnaire ◽

Support Pressure ◽

Future Research ◽

Health Questionnaire ◽

Scoring Method ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Anxiety Depression ◽

Self Reporting Questionnaire

Introduction: Poor mental health of athletes is major concern in sport. Typically, incidence/prevalence of mental health symptoms in athletes is studied using symptom-specific questionnaires. For symptoms of depression/anxiety, one such self-reporting questionnaire is the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Objective: The aim of this review was to synthesise and compare studies using the GHQ-12 in athletes to inform future research by identifying trends and gaps in the literature. Methods: A systematic search of five electronic databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, PsychINFO, Scopus and Web of Science) was conducted on all published studies up to 1 January 2019. 1) participants were able-bodied athletes; 2) studies measured anxiety/depression using the GHQ-12; 3) studies were full original articles from peer-reviewed journals; 4) studies were published in English. Results: 32 studies were included in the review. Prevalence and incidence of symptoms of anxiety/depression ranged from 21-48% and 17-57% respectively. The majority of studies screening anxiety/depression using the GHQ-12 were cross-sectional. Almost 70% of studies used the traditional scoring method. The majority of study populations sampled all-male cohorts comprising football (soccer) players. Conclusion: The traditional scoring of 0-0-1-1 should be used with the cut-off set at ≥3. Also, the mean GHQ-12 score should be reported. Potential risk factors for symptoms of anxiety/depression (i.e. recent adverse life events, injury and illness, social support, pressure to perform and career transitioning) and a lack of prospective studies were identified. Future research should also broaden the spectrum of athlete populations used and try to improve response rates.

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The Cost of Being Perfect: Perfectionism and Suicide Ideation in University Students

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1080/j.1440-1614.2000.00801.x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 34 (5) ◽

pp. 829-835 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Teresa K. Hamilton ◽

Robert D. Schweitzer

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

University Students ◽

General Health ◽

Suicide Ideation ◽

General Health Questionnaire ◽

Future Research ◽

Health Questionnaire ◽

Low Levels ◽

The Cost ◽

The Relationship

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and suicide ideation in a tertiary student population in Australia. Method: The methodology involved 405 students completing the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) which includes a subset of questions which can be used to assess suicide ideation, and the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Results: The presence of suicide ideation was associated with higher scores on total perfectionism and two perfectionism dimensions, and total GHQ scores. There were significant differences between participants with high levels of perfectionism and participants with moderate to low levels of perfectionism on a measure of suicide ideation. Neither gender nor age were associated with differences in the scores, with results indicating high levels of perfectionism may indicate a vulnerability to suicide ideation. Conclusions: Perfectionism is a valued attribute in high-achieving populations. The question needs to be asked, however, at what cost? The findings indicate that high levels of perfectionism may be associated with an increased vulnerability to suicide ideation. Future research is needed to gain a better understanding of the complex interrelationship between personality and temperament, environmental factors and self-destructive behaviour.

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The sensitivity, specificity and reliability of the Malay version 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) in detecting distressed medical students.

Education in Medicine Journal ◽

10.5959/eimj.v2i1.75 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Muhamad Saiful Bahri Yusoff

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

General Health ◽

General Health Questionnaire ◽

Health Questionnaire ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

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A comparison of the validity of two psychiatric screening questionnaires: the Arabic General Health Questionnaire (AGHQ) and Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) in UAE, using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(01)00550-8 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 122-126 ◽

Cited By ~ 82

Author(s):

R. Ghubash ◽

T. Daradkeh ◽

O.F. El-Rufaie ◽

M.T. Abou-Saleh

Keyword(s):

Receiver Operating Characteristic ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

General Health ◽

Roc Analysis ◽

Operating Characteristic ◽

General Health Questionnaire ◽

Health Questionnaire ◽

Validity Indices ◽

Self Reporting Questionnaire ◽

Receiver Operating

AbstractThis study compared the ability of the Arabic General Health questionnaire (AGHQ) and Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) to screen ICD-10 psychiatric disorders in an Arab community in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Standardised psychiatric assessments of subjects using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) were carried out. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine validity indices for the AGHQ and SRQ-20. For the AGHQ, sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC) were 86, 85 and 93% respectively, while for the SRQ-20, validity indices were 83, 83 and 90% respectively. Overall performance of the AGHQ was significantly better than the SRQ-20, especially in males and those under the age of 30 years. We conclude that both questionnaires are valid screening instruments in an Arab community in the UAE.

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Psychiatric Disorder in the Community and the General Health Questionnaire

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.150.6.828 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 150 (6) ◽

pp. 828-835 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

P. G. Surtees

Keyword(s):

Psychiatric Disorder ◽

General Health ◽

General Health Questionnaire ◽

Future Research ◽

Health Questionnaire ◽

Scoring Method ◽

Relative Operating Characteristic ◽

General Population Study ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Item Responses

Goodchild & Duncan-Jones (1985) have proposed a new scoring method for Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) in which increased weight is given to item responses considered to indicate current (but chronic) affective disorders. This report examines both their revised and the conventional scoring of the GHQ in the context of a longitudinal general population study of psychiatric disorder among women. Sensitivity estimates based upon advised cut-points were found to be higher for the revised than for the conventional scoring scheme, and this difference remained when allowance was made for the duration for which disorders had been present prior to assessment with the GHQ. However, Relative Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that while both forms of scoring the GHQ discriminated affective conditions (with or without allowance for their duration) there was no significant difference in their ability to do so. The justification therefore for the post-hoc interpretation of certain item responses as indicators of enduring affective states remains controversial and an issue for future research.

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