28 March 2008

VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION SCREENING IN COMMUNITY

Written by Sri Idaiani dan Suhardi

Abstract : Every mental health intervention program needs a screening tool which is valid and reliable for mental health cases in their own community. The main objectives of the study were to measure the validity and reliability of the 12 items of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and to determine the optimum cut off scores. The study site was located in Abadi Jaya Sub-district, Depok City, West Jawa. Four hundred subjects were selected randomly by the Kish method to participate in the study. The results of the GHQ-12 interviews were then compared with the Symptom Check List-90 (SCL-90) scores as the gold standard. Retest for reliability assessments were followed by 89 out of the 400 subjects and administered in 2-3 week intervals. The optimum cut-off scores of the GHQ-12 was 7/8 with a sensitivity of 67.80 and a specificity of 74.75. The Alpha Cronbach ranged from 0.670-0.776. There were no significant differences between the first and second GHQ-12 scores (Z= -0.211, P= 0.833). The GHQ-12 with moderate validity and high reliability has the potential to become a screening tool, and accordingly needs to be tailored and developed furthermore.

Keywords : GHQ-12, validity, reliability, cut off point, psychological distress, social dysfunction.

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