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The General Health Questionnaire: how many items are really necessary in population surveys?
B K Jacobsen1, T Hasvold, G Høyer
1Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway.
Psychological Medicine
|September 1, 1995
Summary
A few selected questions from the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) can effectively measure mental distress in population surveys. Shorter GHQ versions demonstrate high correlation with the full 20-item scale, simplifying data collection.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Population surveys often use the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) to assess mental distress.
- The length of the GHQ can be a barrier in large-scale surveys.
- Investigating shorter versions of the GHQ is crucial for efficient data collection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if a limited number of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) items can accurately measure mental distress.
- To validate abbreviated versions of the GHQ for use in population studies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 2112 adults (18-70 years) across two cross-sectional studies in Arctic regions.
- Performed correlation analysis between Likert scores of the full GHQ-20 and subsets of 4 and 6 items.
- Selected item subsets using multiple regression analysis and physician expertise.
Main Results:
- Correlation coefficients between 4-item GHQ subsets and the full GHQ-20 were consistently high ( > 0.80) across all population subgroups.
- Increasing the subset size from 4 to 6 items yielded only marginal improvements in correlation.
Conclusions:
- A brief selection of GHQ items provides a valid and reliable measure of mental distress in population surveys.
- Shortened GHQ versions significantly enhance the feasibility of mental health assessments in large populations.