TY - JOUR
T1 - The factor structure of the general health questionnaire (GHQ12) in Saudi Arabia
AU - El-Metwally, Ashraf
AU - Javed, Sundas
AU - Razzak, Hira Abdul
AU - Aldossari, Khaled K.
AU - Aldiab, Abdurrahman
AU - Al-Ghamdi, Sameer H.
AU - Househ, Mowafa
AU - Shubair, Mamdouh M.
AU - Al-Zahrani, Jamaan M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).
PY - 2018/8/2
Y1 - 2018/8/2
N2 - Background: The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) is one of the most unique and extensively used self-report instruments for evaluating psychological disorders and strains. However, the factor structure of GHQ-12 has not been fully explored. The current study aims to assess the factorial structure of GHQ-12 in a large cross-sectional data-set extracted from Al Kharj central region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Population based cross sectional data was extracted from January 2016 to June 2016 from Al Kharj population recruiting 1019 respondents aged 18 and above. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied together with multiple regression analysis to extract and retain factors. Mean GHQ-12 score for demographic and health-related traits were used for assessing this association. Statistical analysis was carried out using STATA version 12.1. Results: Three factors, including social dysfunction, anxiety, and loss of confidence were extracted from the factor structure. 55% of the overall variance was obtained through these factors. Total score of GHQ-12 ranged from 0 to 32 with a mean score of 12. Conclusion: Investigation of the factor structure of GHQ-12 demonstrated that GHQ-12 is a good measure for evaluating the general health of Saudi population. Future studies based on a larger sample size of non-clinical respondents will be useful to evaluate the practical effectiveness of GHQ-12 factors.
AB - Background: The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) is one of the most unique and extensively used self-report instruments for evaluating psychological disorders and strains. However, the factor structure of GHQ-12 has not been fully explored. The current study aims to assess the factorial structure of GHQ-12 in a large cross-sectional data-set extracted from Al Kharj central region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Population based cross sectional data was extracted from January 2016 to June 2016 from Al Kharj population recruiting 1019 respondents aged 18 and above. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied together with multiple regression analysis to extract and retain factors. Mean GHQ-12 score for demographic and health-related traits were used for assessing this association. Statistical analysis was carried out using STATA version 12.1. Results: Three factors, including social dysfunction, anxiety, and loss of confidence were extracted from the factor structure. 55% of the overall variance was obtained through these factors. Total score of GHQ-12 ranged from 0 to 32 with a mean score of 12. Conclusion: Investigation of the factor structure of GHQ-12 demonstrated that GHQ-12 is a good measure for evaluating the general health of Saudi population. Future studies based on a larger sample size of non-clinical respondents will be useful to evaluate the practical effectiveness of GHQ-12 factors.
KW - Al Kharj
KW - Exploratory (EFA) factor analysis
KW - GHQ-12
KW - General health
KW - General health questionnaire
KW - Psychological health
KW - Saudi Arabia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051105257&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12913-018-3381-6
DO - 10.1186/s12913-018-3381-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 30071833
AN - SCOPUS:85051105257
SN - 1472-6963
VL - 18
JO - BMC Health Services Research
JF - BMC Health Services Research
IS - 1
M1 - 595
ER -