title: Comparison of the GHQ-36, the GHQ-12 and the SCL-90 as psychiatric screening instruments in the Finnish population.
abstract: The aim of the study was to compare the screening properties of two General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) versions and the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90), and to evaluate them as psychiatric screening instruments in Finland. We administered the GHQ-36 and the SCL-90 to psychiatric outpatients (n=207) and to a community sample (n=315). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to estimate the screening performance of the two instruments and of the GHQ-12 extracted from the GHQ-36. The screening properties of the scales were found to be good and similar. Suggested optimal cut-off points were 3/4 for the GHQ-12, 8/9 for the GHQ-36 and 0.90/0.91 for the SCL-90. In conclusion, the scales functioned equally well in screening. This favors the GHQ-12 for pure screening. When information on the symptom level is also needed, the GHQ-36 and the SCL-90 become better choices. The cut-off points presented here should be considered in the future Finnish psychiatric screening studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, PL 320, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Lapinlahdentie, 00 180 Helsinki, Finland. matti.holi@hus.fi
authors.forename: Matti M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Holi
authors.forename: Mauri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marttunen
authors.forename: Veikko
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aalberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results