THE VALIDATION OF THE 12-ITEM GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE AMONG ETHNIC INDIAN WOMEN LIVING IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM

Citation
Ks. Jacob et al., THE VALIDATION OF THE 12-ITEM GENERAL HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE AMONG ETHNIC INDIAN WOMEN LIVING IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM, Psychological medicine, 27(5), 1997, pp. 1215-1217
Citations number
13
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology, Clinical",Psychiatry,Psychology,Psychiatry
Journal title
ISSN journal
00332917
Volume
27
Issue
5
Year of publication
1997
Pages
1215 - 1217
Database
ISI
SICI code
0033-2917(1997)27:5<1215:TVOT1G>2.0.ZU;2-S
Abstract
Background. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) has been validated in different languages and cultures and in diverse settings. However, the validity of the 12-item version, increasingly used for screening f or psychiatric morbidity in primary care, has not been established amo ng ethnic Indians living in the United Kingdom. Methods. The GHQ-12 wa s used to screen for psychiatric morbidity in a study of patterns of c onsultation and explanatory models of mental illness in a general prac tice in West London. All individuals who scored 2 or more and an equal number of individuals who scored 0 or 1 were interviewed using the Re vised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) to confirm psychiatric morbi dity. Hindi versions of the both these instruments were also employed. Thresholds of GHQ were compared against the standard of the CIS-R usi ng the recommended threshold of 12 and above as indicating caseness. A receiver operator characteristic curve was drawn to obtain the best t hreshold value for screening. Results. The optimal threshold for scree ning as assessed by receiver operator characteristic analysis was 2/3. This threshold had a sensitivity of 96.7 % and a specificity of 90 %. Conclusions. The sensitivity and specificity of the 12-item General H ealth Questionnaire among women of ethnic Indian origin living in the United Kingdom is high. It can be employed as a screening instrument t o identify individuals with psychiatric morbidity in this population.