title: Factor structure and psychometric properties of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) among Ghanaian adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is little information about the reliability and validity of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in Ghana. This study sought to examine the reliability and factor structure of the GHQ-12 in Ghanaian adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  High school students (N = 770) completed the GHQ-12 and the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ). Internal consistency, convergent validity and exploratory factor analysis were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A two factor structure, each with six items, was extracted. The total GHQ-12 had acceptable internal consistency and a generally high correlation with the ASQ subscales.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The GHQ-12 can be used in Ghanaian samples, but more research is needed to confirm its factor structure.
authors.affiliation: a School of Health and Human Sciences , University of Essex , UK.
authors.forename: Franklin N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Glozah
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Pevalin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards