The factor structure and factorial invariance of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) across time: evidence from two community-based samples.
Psychol Assess
; 18(4): 444-51, 2006 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17154766
ABSTRACT
This study provides new knowledge about the factor structure of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12; D. Goldberg, 1972) through the application of confirmatory factor analysis to longitudinal data, thereby enabling investigation of the factor structure, its invariance across time, and the rank-order stability of the factors. Two community-based longitudinal adult samples with 1-year (n = 640) and 6-year (n = 330) follow-up times were studied. As a result, the correlated 3-factor model (i.e., Anxiety/Depression, Social Dysfunction, and Loss of Confidence) showed a better fit with both samples than the alternative models. The correlated 3-factor structure was also relatively invariant across time in both samples, indicating that the scale has good construct validity. The rank-order stabilities of the factors were low across time, which suggests that the GHQ-12 measures temporal mental state.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Residence Characteristics
/
Surveys and Questionnaires
/
Factor Analysis, Statistical
/
Health Surveys
/
Mental Disorders
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Psychol Assess
Journal subject:
PSICOLOGIA
Year:
2006
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Finland