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Title
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The general health questionnaire as a measure of emotional wellbeing in pregnant women
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Author
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Abstract
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| Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure reliability, validity and accuracy of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as a measure of emotional wellbeing in pregnant women; utility and threshold in particular. Design/methodology/approach The authors measured self-reported emotional wellbeing responses of 164 low-risk pregnant Dutch women with the GHQ-12 and a dichotomous case-finding item (Gold standard). The authors established internal consistency of the 12 GHQ-items (Cronbach’s coefficient α); construct validity: factor analysis using Oblimin rotation; convergent validity (Pearson’s correlation) and discriminatory ability (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve and index of union); and external validity of the dichotomous criterion standard against the GHQ-12 responses (sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios and predictive values), applying a cut-off value of=12 and=17, respectively. Findings A coefficient of 0.85 showed construct reliability. The GHQ-12 items in the pattern matrix showed a three-dimensional factorial model: factor 1, anxiety and depression; factor 2, coping; and factor 3, significance/effect on life, with a total variance of 59 per cent. The GHQ-12 showed good accuracy (0.84; p=<0.001) and external validity (r=0.57; p=<0.001) when the cut-off value was set at the=17 value. Using a cut-off value of=17 demonstrated higher sensitivity (72.32 vs 41.07 per cent) but lower specificity (32.69 vs 55.77 per cent) compared to the commonly used cut-off value of=12. Research limitations/implications Findings generally support the reliability, validity and accuracy of the Dutch version of the GHQ-12. Further evaluation of the measure, at more than one timepoint during pregnancy, is recommended. Practical implications The GHQ-12 holds the potential to measure antenatal emotional wellbeing and women’s emotional responses and coping mechanisms with reduced antenatal emotional wellbeing. Social implications Adapting the GHQ-12 cut-off value enables effective identification of reduced emotional wellbeing to provide adequate care and allows potential reduction of anxiety among healthy pregnant women who are incorrectly screened as positive. Originality/value A novel aspect is adapting the threshold of the GHQ-12 to=17 in antenatal care. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Journal of Mental Health, Training & Practice
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Publication
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2019
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ISSN
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1755-6228
2042-8707
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DOI
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10.1108/JMHTEP-05-2019-0028
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Volume/pages
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14
:6
(2019)
, p. 447-456
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ISI
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000491043400006
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (open access)
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Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
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