title: A comparison of methods of scoring the General Health Questionnaire.
abstract: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) has been criticized for failing to detect individuals with chronic symptoms due to its focus on recent changes in one's usual state. Using data from a community survey in Edmonton, Canada, in which 3,258 subjects completed the 30-item GHQ and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), the traditional method of scoring the GHQ was compared to a revised method proposed by Goodchild and Duncan-Jones. A case was defined to be someone with a history in the preceding month of one or more of the following DIS/DSM-III disorders: major depressive episode, phobia, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. A receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated no difference in the two methods of scoring the GHQ.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Bland
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Orn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012372:ROC Curve