Factor structure and validation of the 12-item Korean version of the general health questionnaire in a sample of early childhood teachers

Abstract

The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is designed to detect a diagnosable psychiatric disorder and has demonstrated positive psychometric properties in adult populations. Despite these findings, the psychometric properties of the GHQ-12 have hardly been examined with regard to early childhood teachers. This study purposed to examine the factor structure of the GHQ-12 and to assess its psychometric properties vis-à-vis a sample of Korean early childhood teachers. An aggregate of 252 participants completed the Korean version of the GHQ-12 in tandem with other psychiatric measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The resulting data were subjected to confirmatory factor analyses to compare the goodness-of-fit of the previously proposed models of the GHQ-12. The three-factor model comprising anhedonia/sleep disturbance, social performance and loss of confidence was found by the goodness-of-fit indices to excellently fit our study sample. The average variance extracted and all factor loadings exceeded the recommended threshold of 0.50; hence, convergent validity was established. The criterion posited by Fornell and Larcker verified the discriminant validity. The instrument evidenced superior reliability evinced by its adequate internal consistency and composite reliability. This evidence allows the assertion that the GHQ-12 may be deployed as a screening tool for the evaluation of general symptoms of psychiatric disorders in Korean early childhood teachers.