Comparison of different scoring systems for the Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire

The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) is a self-rating questionnaire to identify current non-organic non-psychotic morbidity. Each item of the GHQ has four response codes; the left-side one represents the most healthy while the right-side one the most ill. The ability of four scoring systems of the GHQ items to discriminate psychiatric cases from non-cases, 0-0-0-1 (codes 1-3 = 0, code 4 = 1), 0-0-1-1 (codes 1 and 2 = 0, codes 3 and 4 = 1, the original GHQ scoring) and 0-1-1-1 (code 1 = 0, codes 2-4 = 1), were compared against the greatest increase in the rate of cases between neighbouring codes and by using discriminant function analysis with the three scoring systems as predictors among 108 antenatal clinic attenders. The data revealed that the original GHQ scoring was the most valid in its ability to identify psychiatric cases.