Psychometric properties of the General Health Questionnaire-12 in a sample of Hong Kong employees

Abstract

The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) is a widely used instrument for measuring psychological strain, but the factor structure of the GHQ-12 is inconclusive. The present study examined one-factor, two- and three-factor models of the GHQ-12 using structural equations modelling in a longitudinal data-set of Hong Kong employees. The findings supported a two-factor model consisting of a ‘Social Dysfunction’ factor measured by three items, and an ‘Anxiety/Depression’ factor measured by four items. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Keywords:

• GHQ-12
• psychometric
• Hong Kong
• employees
• validity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.