Abstract
Background
General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) is a self-administered questionnaire for identifying non-psychotic and minor psychiatric disorders. It has been translated and used in different populations around the world. Main objective of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of Dari version of GHQ-28 among adult Afghan population.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted between June and September 2023 among 1146 adults from diverse regions of Afghanistan. Internal Consistency Reliability was gauged through Cronbach’s Alpha. To assess the convergent validity of GHQ-28 subscales, Pearson correlation analyses were conducted, comparing the results with those obtained from the DASS-21 and CES-D 20. For validation, confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the goodness-of-fit of the four construct models of GHQ-28 within the Afghan population.
Results
Among the 1146 study participants, majority (72.6%) were females with mean age of 30.2 years while 68.3% with experience of traumatic event in the past month. In this study, overall reliability of the Dari version of GHQ-28 using Cronbach’s alpha was 93.8%, which indicates an excellent internal consistency. For finding validity or goodness-of-fit, CFA was used in this study. The comprehensive or overall GHQ-28 model showed satisfactory fit, indicated by acceptable values for CFI (0.758), TLI (0.734), and RMSEA (0.109). For Somatic Symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression, the model demonstrated good fit, poor fit, good fit, and reasonably good fit, respectively. The overall GHQ-28 model showed satisfactory fit.
Conclusions
The reliability and validity of the Dari version of the GHQ-28 have been established, with satisfactory fit for overall model. The present findings can serve as a base or open the door for further research on the psychological well-being or distress of the Afghans. GHQ-28 should be further evaluated in different and specific populations. Also, this study reinforces the need to conduct further researches in translating GHQ-28 and then evaluating its validity and reliability in other languages spoken in Afghanistan.