The Validity of the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire in Australia: A Comparison Between Three Scoring Methods

2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Donath
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
General Health ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Composite International Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Health Practitioner ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
Scoring Methods ◽  
Scoring Method ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Threshold Score

Objective: To investigate the specificity and sensitivity of three different scoring methods of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and hence to determine the best GHQ-12 threshold score for the detection of mental illness in community settings in Australia. Method: Secondary data analysis of the 1997 Australian National Survey of Health and Wellbeing (n = 10 641), using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview as the gold standard for diagnosis of mental illness. Results: The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve for the C-GHQ scoring method was 0.84 (95% CI = 0.83–0.86) compared with the area for the standard scoring method of 0.78 (95% CI = 0.76–0.80). The best threshold with C-GHQ was 3/4, with sensitivity 82.9% (95% CI = 80.2–85.5%) and specificity 69.0% (95% CI = 68.6–69.4%). The best threshold score with the standard scoring method was 0/1, with sensitivity 75.4% (95% CI = 72.5–78.4%) and specificity 69.9% (95% CI = 69.5–70.3%). These were also the best thresholds for a subsample of the population who had consulted a health practitioner in the previous 4 weeks. Conclusion: In the Australian setting, the C-GHQ scoring method is preferable to the standard method of scoring the GHQ-12. In Australia the GHQ-12 appears to be a less useful instrument for detecting mental illness than in many other countries.

The validity of three different versions of the general health questionnaire among general hospital inpatients

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 536-536
Author(s):  
F. Friedrich ◽  
R. Alexandrowicz ◽  
N. Benda ◽  
M. Krautgartner ◽  
G. Cerny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Hospital ◽  
General Health ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
Scoring Methods ◽  
Scoring Method ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
Validity Indices ◽  
Research Interview ◽  
Hospital Inpatients

ObjectiveOriginally, the General Health Questionnaire (= GHQ) was designed to detect mental disorders among general medical outpatients and in community. The aim of the present survey is to compare the criterion validity indices of three different GHQ versions among general hospital inpatients when using different scoring methods.MethodThe GHQ-30 was filled in by inpatients prior to the research interview. For psychiatric case-identifiation the Clinical Interview Schedule was performed by three research psychiatrists.ResultsThe final sample consisted of 993 inpatients. When comparing the three different GHQ-versions, no significant differences were found in OMR and ROC-AUC as well as in sensitivity (0,612–0,701) and specificity (0,601–0759). When comparing the four scoring methods no significant differences were found in sensitivity. By contrast, OMR and specificity showed better indices for the 20 item and 12 item GHQ versions when using the bimodal and modified Lickert scoring method. Further, the Lickert scoring method showed no significant differences to the other scoring methods for the GHQ-30, where as the modified Lickert and the bimodal method showed lower OMR and higher specificity compared to the chronic method.ConclusionDue to the results of this survey, the future use of the chronic scoring method for the GHQ has to be questioned when used for general hospital inpatients.

Familial Aspects of Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis

1987 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 528-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick McKeon ◽  
Robin Murray
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Affective Disorders ◽  
General Health ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Lifetime Prevalence ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Neurotic Disorders ◽  
First Degree Relatives ◽  
And Control

The first-degree relatives of 50 obsessive-compulsive patients and those of matched controls completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Leyton Obsessional Inventory (LOI). Relatives who were identified as possible ‘cases' by their high GHQ scores, or by their own or informant relatives' reports, were interviewed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. Index relatives had a significantly higher lifetime prevalence of mental illness (36%) than had those of controls (17%), due mainly to an excess of depressive and neurotic disorders. However, only one relative from each group was diagnosed as having definite obsessive-compulsive neurosis. In addition, the LOI scores were similar for the index and control relatives.

Severity of Psychiatric Disorder and the 30-Item General Health Questionnaire

1979 ◽  
Vol 134 (6) ◽  
pp. 609-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Finlay-Jones ◽  
Elaine Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Psychiatric Disorder ◽  
General Health ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
False Negatives ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Threshold Score ◽  
Adverse Life Event ◽  
Chronic Disorders ◽  
State Examination

SummaryThe 30-item General Health Questionnaire misclassified 26 per cent of respondents in two samples of women who were interviewed by a psychiatrist using the Present State Examination. False negatives were likely to be women with chronic disorders, particularly anxiety states. False positives were likely to be distressed by severe physical illness, a recent adverse life event, or loneliness. Applying a higher threshold score to their GHQ, responses would help to separate those with a diagnosable psychiatric disorder from those in states of distress.

WHO study of psychological problems in general health care. Baseline findings and implications for primary care

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-177
Author(s):  
Richard Gater
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
General Health ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Composite International Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Psychological Problems ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
Sono Stati ◽  
Icd 10

RIASSUNTOScopo - Indagare la forma, la frequenza, la gestione e l'esito dei disturbi psichici comuni in pazienti della medicina generale. Disegno - Campionamento a due-stadi di coloro che si rivolgono ai servizi di medicina generale seguito da una valutazione longitudinale a 3 e 12 mesi dello stato mentale, della disabilità e del trattamento, eseguiti utilizzando gli stessi metodi in 15 Centri nel mondo, sotto il coordinamento dell'Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanita. Principali misure utilizzate - General Health Questionnaire, la versione per la medicina generale della Composite International Diagnostic Interview utilizzata per ricavare diagnosi secondo i criteri dell'ICD-10, la Groningen Social Disability Schedule, ed una valutazione da parte del medico di medicina generale dell'attuale stato fisico e mentale insieme ad un riassunto della loro gestione del caso. Risultati - Sono stati sottoposti a screening 25.916 pazienti e sono stati sottoposti a dettagliate interviste 5.438 pazienti. I disturbi psichici tra i pazienti degli ambulatori di medicina generale sono risultati frequenti (in media il 24% di pazienti visti consecutivamente, range 7.3%-52.5%). La disabilità è risultata più elevata nei pazienti con disturbi psichici: quanto più gravi erano i disturbi psichici, tanto pià grave era la disabilità. Il problema principale lamentato dai pazienti era spesso un sintomo somatico, mentre solo una minoranza di essi lamentava un chiaro sintomo psichico. Il riconoscimento dei disturbi da parte dei medici è risultato essere molto diverso tra i diversi Centri e in tutti i Centri metà dei casi ICD-10 non è stata identificata dai medici. I medici operand nell'area di Verona hanno messo in evidenza una particolare distorsione nei riguardi dei disturbi psichici. Un trattamento e stato prescritto a quasi tutti i pazienti che secondo i medici presentavano disturbi psichici, per cui i trattamenti sono risultati simili, indipendentemente dalla diagnosi. Conclusioni - La frequenza dei disturbi psichici nel setting della medicina generale e la disabilità ad essi associata sottolineano la loro importanza per la salute pubblica. Questi sono pazienti che si rivolgono agli ambulatori di medicina generale; la maggior parte di essi continua ad essere trattata in tale setting senza ricorrere ai servizi psichiatrici specialistici. È pertanto importante potenziare il training per il riconoscimento, la diagnosi ed il trattamento dei disturbi psichici comuni sia nelle Facolta di medicina che nei corsi di formazione dei medici di medicina generale.

Validity and Uses of a Screening Questionnaire (GHQ) in the Community

1979 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
pp. 508-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Tarnopolsky ◽  
D. J. Hand ◽  
E. K. McLean ◽  
Howard Roberts ◽  
R. D. Wiggins
Keyword(s):  
General Health ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
Psychiatric Interview ◽  
Screening Questionnaire ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Epidemiological Surveys

SummaryThe 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) has been validated against the criterion of a standardized psychiatric interview in the community. Used for screening, the GHQ misclassified 25 per cent of 105 respondents, being worse for men. Specificity and sensitivity were above.70. The alternative use of the GHQ as an estimator and as an indicator of morbidity in epidemiological surveys is described and discussed.

Psychiatric Disorder in the Community and the General Health Questionnaire

1987 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 828-835 ◽  
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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