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Validation of the General Health Questionnaire in a young community sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Michael H. Banks
Michael H. Banks*
Affiliation:
MRC/SSRC Social and Applied Psychology Unit, University of Sheffield
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Michael H. Banks, MRC/SSRC Social and Applied Psychology Unit, The University, Sheffield SlO 2TN.
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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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , May 1983 , pp. 349 - 353
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

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