Factor Structure of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) Among Korean University Students

Background: The prevalence of mental health issues among university student populations is a growing concern. Therefore, a reliable, standardized instrument is important for identifying students' symptoms. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), a 12-item self-report measure designed to screen for mental disorders in general practice and community settings, is a promising instrument. Although the GHQ-12's underlying factor structure has been investigated internationally in a variety of settings, the best factor structure is still unclear in South Korea, particularly in university settings. Therefore, this study investigated the GHQ-12's factor structure for a sample of South Korean university students. Methods: In this research, 504 undergraduate students participated; they were aged 18-28 years and attended a four-year university course in South Korea. The collected data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which tested previously proposed factor structures for the GHQ-12, including single-factor, correlated two-factor, and three-factor models. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that Graetz's three-factor model, representing anxiety and depression, social dysfunction, and loss of confidence, fitted the data better than a unidimensional model or correlated two-factor models. Reliability analysis showed that the total GHQ-12 had adequate internal consistency. Conclusions: The current study suggests that Graetz's three-factor solution provided the best fit to our data and that the Korean version of the GHQ-12 is a robust measure of general psychological distress symptoms. Moreover, our results further indicate the potential utility of also using the overall GHQ12 score as a measure of general psychological distress, thus yielding significant advantages in both research and university settings.