Validation of the General Health Questionnaire in a young community sample

TLDR

Validity coefficients, misclassification rates, sensitivity and specificity for the 30‑item, 28‑item and 12‑item GHQ were estimated by comparing each version to the Present State Examination in 200 17‑year‑olds. The GHQ‑28 performed best (cut 5/6) and the GHQ‑12 acceptable (cut 2/3), with all versions highly correlated with the PSE and supporting continuous scoring, while GHQ‑28 subscale correlations indicated a general factor and relative independence of the social dysfunction sub‑scale.

Abstract

SYNOPSIS Validity coefficients of the 30-item, 28-item and 12-item versions of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were determined by comparison with the Present State Examination (PSE) in a sample of 200 17-year-olds. The PSE classified 7 people (3·5%) as cases, although only 47% were identified as free of symptoms. Misclassification rates, sensitivity and specificity values are presented for different cutting scores for the three versions of the GHQ. The GHQ-28 had superior values, especially with a cutting score of 5/6; the GHQ-12 with a 2/3 cutting score also had acceptable values. All versions of the GHQ correlated highly with the PSE Index of Definition and total scores, providing support for the treatment of GHQ scores as a continuous variable in this kind of population. Correlations between sub-scales of the GHQ-28 give further evidence for a general factor and the relative independence of the social dysfunction sub-scale.