A network analysis of the General Health Questionnaire

Abstract

The General Health Questionnaire-28 is a well-known symptom-based rating scale of mental health. Several studies have investigated its latent structure using confirmatory factor analysis. This study questions this approach on several substantive points, most notably the inability for symptoms to interact using confirmatory factor analysis, and argues for the use of network analysis instead. Network results demonstrate the method’s utility to improve our understanding of the rating scales’ symptom structure. Insights include a much richer understanding of comorbidity on the General Health Questionnaire-28 and the identification of particularly salient symptoms affecting the network. It yields substantive information of interest to researchers and practitioners alike.