Validity and test-retest reliability of the italian version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire in general practice: A comparison between three scoring methods

doi:10.1016/0010-440X(93)90048-9

Comprehensive Psychiatry

Volume 34, Issue 3, May–June 1993, Pages 198-205

https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-440X(93)90048-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Validity coefficients of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were established against the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) in a sample of primary care patients. Comparison between the conventional scoring method, Likert scoring, and the revised scoring procedure proposed by Goodchild and Duncan-Jones (C-GHQ) showed very similar screening properties: sensitivity ranged between 71% and 75%, and specificity ranged between 73% and 76%. The test-retest reliability of the GHQ-12, as expressed by Pearson's r and intraclass correlation coefficient, was satisfactory irrespective of the scoring method used, even though mean scores on the second test tended to be significantly lower than the corresponding mean scores on the first test. The C-GHQ by itself did not result in an improvement of the screening capacity of the GHQ; however, the best results were obtained by combining the conventional scoring and C-GHQ case criteria.

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Citation Excerpt :
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The Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental State (CAARMS) interview was used to classify patients. Enrolled patients were assessed with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), the Prodromal Questionnaire-16 (PQ-16), the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS), and the BCIS.
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Validity and test-retest reliability of the italian version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire in general practice: A comparison between three scoring methods

Abstract

J Math Psychol

The Detection of Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire

The General Health Questionnaire: a valid index of psychological impairment in Australian populations

Med J Aust

Validation of the General Health Questionnaire in a young community sample

Psychol Med

Validity of the General Health Questionnaire in a Yugoslav student population

Psychol Med

A comparison of the validity of two psychiatric screening questionnaires (GHQ-12 and SRQ-20) in Brazil, using Relative Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis

Psychol Med

Psychiatric morbidity in a general practice in an Indian city

Br Med J

Psychiatric screening in general practice in Italy. A validity study of the GHQ

Soc Psychiatry

The GHQ-12 as a screening tool in a primary care setting

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

The use of the General Health Questionnaire as an indicator of mental health in occupational studies

J Occup Psychol

Chronicity and the General Health Questionnaire

Br J Psychiatry

A standardized psychiatric interview for use in community surveys

Br J Prev Soc Med

The construction, development and testing of a self-report questionnaire to identify social problems

Psychol Med

Psychiatric illness in general practice. A detailed study using a new method of case identification

Br Med J