General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)
The twelve-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is intended to screen for general (non-
psychotic) mental health problems among primary care patients.
The GHQ-12, due to its ease of use and brevity, has been extensively used to screen
psychological distress in primary health care, outpatient setting, and in different cultures and
population. The GHQ-12 has also proved to be a consistent and reliable instrument.
Objective: To investigate self-reported stress level and coping ability as well as mental status
(anxiety and depression) via the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) questionnaire
and periodontal status among students.
The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is a widely used screening tool to detect
psychiatric disorders. It consists of 12 questions focusing on the respondent's mental health over
the past few weeks. The questions are designed to identify two major types of problems: the
inability to carry out normal functions and the appearance of new and distressing phenomena.
Here is a questionnaire based on the GHQ-12:
General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)
Instructions:
Please indicate how your health has been in general over the past few weeks. For each question,
choose the answer that best describes your experience.
1. Have you been able to concentrate on whatever you're doing?
o Better than usual
o Same as usual
o Less than usual
o Much less than usual
2. Have you lost much sleep over worry?
o Not at all
o No more than usual
o Rather more than usual
o Much more than usual
3. Have you felt that you are playing a useful part in things?
o More so than usual
o Same as usual
o Less so than usual
o Much less than usual
4. Have you felt capable of making decisions about things?
o More so than usual
o Same as usual
o Less so than usual
o Much less than usual
5. Have you felt constantly under strain?
o Not at all
o No more than usual
o Rather more than usual
o Much more than usual
6. Have you felt you couldn't overcome your difficulties?
o Not at all
o No more than usual
o Rather more than usual
o Much more than usual
7. Have you been able to enjoy your normal day-to-day activities?
o More so than usual
o Same as usual
o Less so than usual
o Much less than usual
8. Have you been able to face up to your problems?
o More so than usual
o Same as usual
o Less so than usual
o Much less than usual
9. Have you been feeling unhappy or depressed?
o Not at all
o No more than usual
o Rather more than usual
o Much more than usual
10. Have you been losing confidence in yourself?
o Not at all
o No more than usual
o Rather more than usual
o Much more than usual
11. Have you been thinking of yourself as a worthless person?
o Not at all
o No more than usual
o Rather more than usual
o Much more than usual
12. Have you been feeling reasonably happy, all things considered?
o More so than usual
o Same as usual
o Less so than usual
o Much less than usual
Scoring
For each question, the responses are scored as follows:
o "Better than usual" or "Not at all": 0 points
o "Same as usual": 0 points
o "Less than usual" or "Rather more than usual": 1 point
o "Much less than usual" or "Much more than usual": 1 point
The total score ranges from 0 to 12. Higher scores indicate greater levels of psychological
distress.
Interpretation
A score of 0-3 is generally considered to indicate normal mental health.
A score of 4 or higher suggests possible psychological distress and may warrant further
evaluation.
