General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)
Brief description
The General Health Questionnaire was developed in England as a screening instrument to identify psychological distress among adults in primary care settings. The GHQ manual notes that it is not appropriate for use with children but that it has been used with adolescents. The original version comprised 60 items and subsequently various versions of different length have been constructed and validated (30-item, 28-item, 20-item and 12-item versions). There is currently no version defined specifically for adolescents.
Appropriate target populations
Not specified.
Administration options
Formats available
_X_ self-administered (paper-and-pencil)
___ self-administered (computer)
___ clinician-administered
Time required
Not specified.
Languages available
_X_ English
___ French
_X_ Other (Contact tool developers for more information.)
Accessibility and cost
___ no charge for use
___ use requires permission of test developer
___ use requires special training and/or professional or academic credentials
_X_ fee for use
Where to access
Summary of test development data
Quality of reporting
Low, based on STARD rating (see Appendix, p. 76).
Summary of validity and Reliability Data
Moderate, based largely on the fact there is one somewhat dated criterion-related diagnostic-based validity study, but emerging literature on other types of validity for use in the general population.