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      GHQ-12 in adolescents: contributions to the controversial factorial validity Translated title: GHQ-12 en adolescentes: contribuciones a la controversia sobre su validez factorial

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          Abstract

          Abstract: Objective: The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) is one of the most widely used questionnaires in the adult population, but there are not as many studies exploring its applicability in adolescents. The main problem is the diversity of results on its factorial structure, as different studies have shown one, two or three dimensions. The purpose of this study was to explore the GHQ-12 factorial structure for adolescents. Method: An observational multicenter cross-sectional descriptive study was designed for schools in the city of Madrid. A random sample of n=2,171, 14-16-year-olds was stratified by the school’s development level and funding (public, private or mixed). Unrestricted factor analysis was applied based on the polychoric or tetrachoric correlations matrix (depending on the test scoring method). Results: The optimized parallel analysis provided an unequivocal one-factor structure, confirmed by unidimensionality assessment. Around 30% of male and 42% of female adolescents were found to be at risk of developing mental health problems. Conclusions: The GHQ-12 is a one-dimensional test for screening psychological distress, with excellent psychometric properties for its application in an adolescent population. The use of adequate statistical methods can overcome old controversies and promote proper application and interpretation of the results provided by the test.

          Translated abstract

          Resumen: Objetivo: El General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) es de los cuestionarios más utilizados en la población adulta, pero hay pocos estudios que exploren su aplicabilidad en adolescentes. El principal problema es la diversidad de resultados en su estructura factorial, ya que diferentes estudios han encontrado una, dos o tres dimensiones. El propósito de este estudio fue explorar la estructura factorial del GHQ-12 en adolescentes. Método: Estudio descriptivo observacional multicéntrico transversal para centros educativos de la ciudad de Madrid. Se estratificó una muestra aleatoria de n = 2171 jóvenes de 14-16 años según el nivel de desarrollo y financiación de la escuela (pública, privada o mixta). Se aplicó un análisis factorial sin restricciones basado en la matriz de correlaciones policóricas o tetracóricas (dependiendo del método de puntuación de la prueba). Resultados: El análisis paralelo optimizado proporcionó una estructura inequívocamente unifactorial. El 30% de los varones y el 42% de las adolescentes presentaban riesgo de mala salud mental. Conclusiones: El GHQ-12 es un test unidimensional para el cribado del riesgo de mala salud mental, con excelentes propiedades psicométricas para su aplicación en población adolescente. El uso de métodos estadísticos adecuados puede superar viejas controversias y promover la correcta interpretación de los resultados de la prueba.

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          Why do many psychiatric disorders emerge during adolescence?

          The peak age of onset for many psychiatric disorders is adolescence, a time of remarkable physical and behavioural changes. The processes in the brain that underlie these behavioural changes have been the subject of recent investigations. What do we know about the maturation of the human brain during adolescence? Do structural changes in the cerebral cortex reflect synaptic pruning? Are increases in white-matter volume driven by myelination? Is the adolescent brain more or less sensitive to reward? Finding answers to these questions might enable us to further our understanding of mental health during adolescence.
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            Dimensionality assessment of ordered polytomous items with parallel analysis.

            Parallel analysis (PA) is an often-recommended approach for assessment of the dimensionality of a variable set. PA is known in different variants, which may yield different dimensionality indications. In this article, the authors considered the most appropriate PA procedure to assess the number of common factors underlying ordered polytomously scored variables. They proposed minimum rank factor analysis (MRFA) as an extraction method, rather than the currently applied principal component analysis (PCA) and principal axes factoring. A simulation study, based on data with major and minor factors, showed that all procedures consistently point at the number of major common factors. A polychoric-based PA slightly outperformed a Pearson-based PA, but convergence problems may hamper its empirical application. In empirical practice, PA-MRFA with a 95% threshold based on polychoric correlations or, in case of nonconvergence, Pearson correlations with mean thresholds appear to be a good choice for identification of the number of common factors. PA-MRFA is a common-factor-based method and performed best in the simulation experiment. PA based on PCA with a 95% threshold is second best, as this method showed good performances in the empirically relevant conditions of the simulation experiment. © 2011 American Psychological Association
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              Best Alternatives to Cronbach's Alpha Reliability in Realistic Conditions: Congeneric and Asymmetrical Measurements

              The Cronbach's alpha is the most widely used method for estimating internal consistency reliability. This procedure has proved very resistant to the passage of time, even if its limitations are well documented and although there are better options as omega coefficient or the different versions of glb, with obvious advantages especially for applied research in which the ítems differ in quality or have skewed distributions. In this paper, using Monte Carlo simulation, the performance of these reliability coefficients under a one-dimensional model is evaluated in terms of skewness and no tau-equivalence. The results show that omega coefficient is always better choice than alpha and in the presence of skew items is preferable to use omega and glb coefficients even in small samples.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                ap
                Anales de Psicología
                Anal. Psicol.
                Universidad de Murcia (Murcia, Murcia, Spain )
                0212-9728
                1695-2294
                September 2020
                : 36
                : 2
                : 247-253
                Affiliations
                [1] orgnameMadrid City Council orgdiv1Madrid Salud orgdiv2Research and Training Unit. Assessment and Quality Department Spain
                [3] Madrid orgnameCamilo José Cela University orgdiv1Faculty of Psychology Spain
                [2] orgnameMadrid City Council orgdiv1Madrid Salud orgdiv2Prevention Department. Institute of Addictions Spain
                Article
                S0212-97282020000200007 S0212-9728(20)03600200007
                10.6018/analesps.36.2.372721
                21155a2a-d790-48d4-b530-2ddea89dd8b4

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 20 November 2019
                : 21 April 2019
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 39, Pages: 7
                Product

                SciELO Spain

                Categories
                Clinical and Health Psychology

                questionnaire,early detection,factorial analysis,screening,adolescence,mental health,GHQ-12,cuestionario,detección precoz,análisis factorial,cribado,adolescencia,salud mental

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