Criteria

Name of survey Web link/s Contacts

Description
General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12) http://shop.gl-assessment.co.uk/home.php?cat=416 Authors Goldberg & Williams (1988)1

Dates of Fieldwork Content What does the scale /questionnaire claim to measure? The GHQ12 is a measure of current mental health. It focuses on two major areas the inability to carry out normal functions and the appearance of new and distressing experiences. Originally developed as a 60-item instrument, a range of shortened versions of the questionnaire including the GHQ-30, GHQ-28, GHQ-20 and GHQ-12 are now available. The questionnaire asks whether the respondent has experienced a particular symptom or behaviour recently. Each item is rated on a four-point scale. The 12 item version has been shown to be as effective as the 30 item version. Questions include: Have you recently 1. Been able to concentrate on whatever you are doing 2. Lost much sleep over worry 3. Felt that you are playing a useful part in things 4. Felt capable of making decisions about things 5. Felt constantly under strain 6. Felt you couldnt overcome your difficulties 7. Been able to enjoy your normal day to day activities 8. Been able to face up to your problems 9. Been feeling unhappy and depressed 10. Been losing confidence in yourself 11. Been thinking of yourself as a worthless person 12. Been feeling reasonably happy, all things
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Goldberg, D. & Williams, P. (1988) A users guide to the General Health Questionnaire. Slough: NFERNelson

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Time taken to complete Population and target group

Average of 5 minutes to complete Who is the intended population or sample for use? Intended for use with adults aged 16+ years. GHQ has been shown to be valid and useful in both clinical and general populations.

Delivery Method

How is the survey administered? Self completion.

Content Validity

How does the scale measure what it was designed to measure? Analysis used during the development of GHQ12 ensured that it has good content validity (Goldberg & Huxley, 1980)2.

Construct validity (internal consistency)

To what extent does the scale relate to other variables in a meaningful way? Internal consistency has been reported in a range of studies using Cronbachs Alpha, with correlations ranging from 0.77 to -0.93.

Construct validity (external consistency)

To what extent does the scale generalise beyond the studied population? There is good evidence that clinical assessments of the severity of psychiatric illness are directly proportional to the number of symptoms reported on the GHQ12 (Goldberg & Huxley, 1980). The predictive validity of the GHQ in comparison with other scaling tests of depression is also good (Goldberg, 1985)3.

Goldberg, D. & Huxley, P. (1980) Mental Illness in the community: The pathway to psychiatric care. London: Tavistock Publications 3 Goldberg, D. (1985) Identifying psychiatric illnesses among general medical patients. British Medical Journal, 291: 161-162

Reliability

Does the questionnaire produce similar results under similar conditions, and has this been assessed by test-retest reliability? Split-half and test-retest correlations have been carried out with good results (Goldberg & Williams, 1988).

Responsiveness

How does the questionnaire detect changes over time? Studies have indicated that the GHQ12 is a consistent instrument over multiple time periods with relatively long periods between applications in general population samples. This makes it particularly well suited for long term studies that require an indicator of minor psychiatric morbidity (Pevalin, 2000)4.

Ceiling/floor effects

Is the questionnaire subject to ceiling or floor effects (i.e. possibility of respondents obtaining higher/lower scores) There are no significant ceiling/floor effects but researchers may find heavy skew in population samples with majority of people scoring 0 (no evidence of possible mental illness). GHQ 12 scores are more appropriately analysed in groups representing different levels of mental illness.

Comparability with other surveys

Can the questionnaire be compared to other surveys? The GHQ is the most widely-used measure of psychiatric ill health in the UK and there have been numerous applications in survey research. Normative data are available from the Health Survey for England and Living in Britain Survey

Access to the survey/tool

Is the questionnaire subject to copyright, or is it freely available. Is it necessary to obtain permission for use? Are there any fees? Copyrighted. Must register to use, charge included:

Pevalin, D.J. (2000) Multiple applications of the GHQ-12 in a general population sample: an investigation of long-term retest effects. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 35(11): 508

http://shop.gl-assessment.co.uk/home.php?cat=416 NFER Publishing Company, Darville House, 2 Oxford Road East, Windsor SL4 1DF Common reporting conventions Fit with national and local policy drivers No information available on this.

How does the questionnaire measure national indicators and guidelines? This is a developing policy area. The instruments needed for measurement are yet to be agreed at a national level.

Future developments

No information available on this.