GHQ-12

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Able to concentrate
2. Lost much sleep We should like to know if you
3. Playing a useful part have any medical complaints,
and how your health has
4. Capable of making decisions
been in general, over the
5. Under stress past few weeks…..
6. Could not overcome difficulties
We want to know about
7. Enjoy normal activities
present and recent
8. Can face up to problems complaints, not those you
9. Feeling unhappy and depressed had in the past.
10. Losing confidence
11. Thinking of self as worthless
12. Feeling reasonably happy
 12 item GHQ (6 positive items)
• Item 1 • Item 7
– able to concentrate – able to enjoy day-to-day activities
• Better than usual BTU • More so than usual MSTU
• Same as usual SAU • Same as usual SAU
• Less than usual LTU • Less so than usual LSTU
• Much less than usual MTLU • Much less than usual MTLU
• Item 3 • Item 8
– playing a useful part – able to face up to your problems
• More so than usual MSTU • More so than usual MSTU
• Same as usual SAU • Same as usual SAU
• Less useful than usual LUTU • Less able than usual LATU
• Much less than usual MTLU • Much less than usual MTLU
• Item 4 • Item 12
– felt capable of making decisions – feeling reasonably happy all things considered
• More so than usual MSTU • More so than usual MSTU
• Same as usual SAU
• Same as usual SAU
• Less so than usual LSTU
• Less so than usual LSTU
• Much less capable MLC
• Much less than usual MTLU
 12 item GHQ (6 negative items)
• Item 2 • Item 9
– feeling unhappy and depressed
– lost much sleep over worry
• Not at all NAA • Not at all NAA
• No more than usual NMTU • No more than usual NMTU
• Rather more than usual RMTU • Rather more than usual RMTU
• Much more than usual MMTU • Much more than usual MMTU
• Item 5 • Item 10
– playing a usefu part – been losing confidence in yourself
• Not at all NAA • Not at all NAA
• No more than usual NMTU • No more than usual NMTU
• Rather more than usual RMTU • Rather more than usual RMTU
• Much more than usual MMTU • Much more than usual MMTU
• Item 6 • Item 11
– felt capable of making decisions – thinking of self as worthless person
• Not at all NAA • Not at all NAA
• No more than usual NMTU • No more than usual NMTU
• Rather more than usual RMTU • Rather more than usual RMTU
• Much more than usual MMTU
• Much more than usual MMTU
ILLEGAL & WRONG !!!
 Goldberg’s GHQ-12:
BHPS VARIABLE & RESPONSE LABELS
ighqa : ghq: concentration ighqg : ghq: enjoy day-to-day activities
1: better than usual 1: more than usual
2: same as usual 2: same as usual
3: less than usual 3: less so
4: much less thn usual 4: much less
ighqb : ghq: loss of sleep ighqh : ghq: ability to face problems
1: not at all 1: more than usual
2: no more than usual 2: same as usual
3: rather more thn usul 3: less so
4: much more than usual 4: much less
ighqc : ghq: playing a useful role ighqi : ghq: unhappy or depressed
1: more than usual 1: not at all
2: same as usual 2: no more thn usual
3: less so 3: rather more
4: much less 4: much more
ighqd : ghq: capable of making decisions ighqj : ghq: losing confidence
1: more than usual 1: not at all
2: same as usual 2: no more than usual
3: less so 3: rather more
4: much less 4: much more
ighqe : ghq: constantly under strain ighqk : ghq: believe in self-worth
1: not at all 1: not at all
2: no more than usual 2: no more than usual
3: rather more 3: rather more
4: much more 4: much more
ighqf : ghq: problem overcoming difficulties ighql : ghq: general happiness
1: not at all 1: more than usual
2: no more than usual 2: same as usual
3: rather more 3: less so
4: much more 4: much less
 Latent
LatentGoldberg:
Goldberg:What
Whatkinds
kindsof
ofmodels
modelsare
arerequired
requiredtotoask
askwhat
whatresearch
researchquestions?
questions?

Psychiatry Psychology

Q … the characteristics and performance of GHQ Q … the potential for some items to be scored to
items as measures of distress, and the capture a notion of positive mental health.
estimated or assumed dist’n of the latent trait Does the GHQ “do” well-being?

Focus on negative items Focus on GHQ positive items

• Normal ogive item response models WLS • Equal interval scoring as 2-1-0-0 Interval?

• Logistic distribution item response models ML • Coding “more than usual” 1-0-0-0 + ve items

1. Latent variable model (IRT/LTA or CDFA) 1. Model-based vs simple sum score (linear
2. Discrimination & Difficulty params ICCs models, interval (metric) scores)
3. Information function (effective measurement) 2. Person (cluster) vs variable centered analyses
4. Scoring methods for -ve items (cGHQ) 3. IRT models with ordinal or nominal indicators

Standard statistical approach - under applied Novel scoring approaches, under-validated

Duncan-Jones et al (1986), Psych Med Whittington & Huppert (2003) SSM

Goldberg et al (1987) Psych Med Ploubidis et al (2007) P&ID
Positively worded items scored 1000
GHQ01 GHQ03 GHQ04 GHQ07 GHQ08 GHQ12

F1 Orthogonal F2

GHQ GHQ
Pos Neg

GHQ02 GHQ05 GHQ06 GHQ09 GHQ10 GHQ11

Negatively items scored 0011

 Setting the scene
• Software use: what do you use?
– SPSS
– SAS STATA
– R/Splus MATLAB

– Specialist: Psychometric
• BILOG MULTILOG TESTFACT PARSCALE
• Rasch software
 Psychometric papers
• What statistics/statistical analyses do you
associate with a “psychometric” paper
– What would you use a computer to calculate for you?
• Why are you doing that? Why only that?

• What else could you do and how?

• Increasing your options and understanding of the range of
psychometric scaling approaches and statistic analyses
• Psychometric analyses, and increasing the accuracy with
which you describe, execute and combine them
 Example: GHQ
General Health Questionnaire
See GHQ Users Guide and Goodchild-Duncan Jones (Ref pdf)

This instrument has no Be careful with question wording

numbers on it
GHQ is balanced in terms of
Scoring begins from + & - question wording
assignment of [what does this mean?]
1, 2, 3, 4
(weights) Why – and what implication(s)?
i.e. consecutive integers
to the ordered levels NB: If response options are
of the graded responses consistently (re)-worded, this
[Scoring methods alter avoids the need for reverse
weights/Scaling models scoring]
estimate weights]
GHQ-30 data from a population
survey: HALS (Baseline)
GHQ-30 data from a population
survey: HALS (9 items)
New portable C:\HALS_CGHQ_negativeonly.dta
Time to share out well tested

Data preparation pipeline

(semi-automated)

Take it away Jon