Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T15:16:42.277Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Validation of the Arabic versions of the Thirty- and Twelve-Item General Health Questionnaires in Primary Care Patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Omer E. F. El-Rufaie  and
Tewfik K. Daradkeh
Tewfik K. Daradkeh
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of the Arabic versions of the GHQ–30 and GHQ–12 in a sample of primary health care (PHC) patients in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

Method

A randomly selected sample (n=157) of patients attending a PHC centre in Al Ain was screened using the Arabic version of the GHQ–30, the first 12 items of which constitute the GHQ–12. Then a standardised clinical interview using the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) was conducted with all screened patients. The receiver operating characteristic analyses of the Arabic versions of both GHQ–30 and GHQ–12 were compared and their correlation coefficients with the weighted total score of the CIS and the overall severity rate were estimated. Discriminant functional analysis was also performed to assess the discriminatory powers of both the GHQ–30 and GHQ–12.

Results

Using the simple Likert scoring method, the best cut-off point of the GHQ–30, that balances between sensitivity and specificity, was 31/32 with a sensitivity of 0.83 and specificity of 0.83, and that of the GHQ–12 was 12/13 with a sensitivity of 0.83 and specificity 0.80. The total discriminatory powers of the GHQ–30 and GHQ–12 were approximately 93 and 86%, respectively. Both versions of the GHQ were found to have a significant concurrent validity.

Conclusion

The Arabic versions of both GHQ–30 and GHQ–12 are valid psychiatric screening instruments, with almost similar performance, for Arabic-speaking PHC patients.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 169 , Issue 5 , November 1996 , pp. 662 - 664
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1996 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cooper, B. (1979) Demographic and epidemiological methods in psychiatric research. In Psychiatrie de Gegenwart, Bd. 1/1, 2 Anfl. (eds Kisker, K. P., Meyer, J. E., Muller, C., et al). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
El-Rufaie, O. E. F. & Absood, G. H. (1993) Minor psychiatric morbidity in primary health care. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 39, 159–166.Google Scholar
El-Rufaie, O. E. F. & Absood, O. H. (1994) Validity study of the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ–20) in primary health care in the United Arab Eimrates. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 4, 45–53.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. (1972) Detecting Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire. Maudsley Monograph 22. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D., Cooper, B., Eastwood, M. R., et al (1970) A standardized interview for use in community studies. British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine, 24, 18–23.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D., Kay, C. & Thompson, L. (1976) Psychiatric morbidity in general practice and the community. Psychological Medicine, 6, 565–569.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D., & Williams, P. (1988) A User's Guide to the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor NFER-Nelson.Google Scholar
Kearns, N. P., Cruikshank, C. A., McGuigan, K. J., et al (1982) A comparison of depression rating scales. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 45–49.Google Scholar
Lloyd, G. G. & Cawley, R. H. (1983) Distress or illness? A study of psychological symptoms after myocardial infarction. British Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 120–125.Google Scholar
Mann, A & Murray, R. (1979) Measurement in psychiatry. In Essentials of Post-Graduate Psychiatry (eds Hill, P., Murray, R. & Thorley, A.), pp. 77–98. London: Academic Press, New York: Grune & Stratton.Google Scholar
Shepherd, M. & Clare, A. (1981) Psychiatric Illness in General Practice, 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford Medical Publications.Google Scholar
Zigmond, A. S. & Snaith, R. P. (1983) The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67, 361–370.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.