Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T11:09:18.534Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

D. P. Goldberg*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manchester
V. F. Hillier
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manchester
*
1Address for correspondence: Professor David Goldberg, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of South Manchester, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 8LR.

Synopsis

This study reports the factor structure of the symptoms comprising the General Health Questionnaire when it is completed in a primary care setting. A shorter, 28-item GHQ is proposed consisting of 4 subscales: somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression. Preliminary data concerning the validity of these scales are presented, and the performance of the whole 28-item questionnaire as a screening test is evaluated. The factor structure of the symptomatology is found to be very similar for 3 independent sets of data.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Goldberg, D. P. (1972). The Detection of Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire. Oxford University Press: London.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. P. & Blackwell, B. (1970). Psychiatric illness in a suburban general practice. A detailed study using a new method of case identification. British Medical Journal ii, 439443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, D. P., Cooper, B., Eastwood, M. R., Kedward, H. B. & Shepherd, M. (1970). A standardised psychiatric interview suitable for use in community surveys. British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine 24, 1823.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. P., Kay, C. & Thompson, L. (1976 a). Psychiatric morbidity in general practice and the community. Psychological Medicine 6, 565569.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, D. P., Rickels, K., Downing, R. & Hesbacher, P. (1976 b). A comparison of two psychiatric screening tests. British Journal of Psychiatry 129, 6167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marks, J., Goldberg, D. P. & Hillier, V. F. (1979). Determinants of the ability of general practitioners to detect psychiatric illness. Psychological Medicine 9 (in the press).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wing, J. K., Nixon, J., Mann, A. & Leff, J. P. (1977). Reliability of the PSE (ninth edition) used in a population study. Psychological Medicine 7, 505516.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed