JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
VALIDATION STUDIES
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Confirmatory factor analysis of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in Spanish adolescents.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the factor structure of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in a population of Spanish adolescents.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study among 4,146 individuals (mean age 16.3 years). The students completed a health questionnaire that included the GHQ-12. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with four factor structure models. Three of the models were theory-driven: unidimensional, two-dimensional (positive and negative questions), model proposed by Graetz (anxiety and depression, social dysfunction, loss of confidence); and the fourth model was based on our exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency was 0.82. A three-dimensional structure was identified in the EFA. The first factor included items 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9 of the GHQ-12; the second, items 3, 10, and 11; and the third, items 4, 8, and 12. The three factors together explained 53.7% of the variance. The model with the best fit in the CFA was the three-dimensional model proposed by Graetz, followed by the three-dimensional model derived from the EFA. These two models had acceptable goodness-of-fit indices.

CONCLUSIONS: In an adolescent population from Southern Europe, the GHQ-12 showed high internal consistency. The factor structure that best fitted the data was the Graetz three-dimensional model. However, the high correlations observed between factors suggest that the GHQ-12 should be used as a unidimensional scale, as currently done.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app