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Validation of the 30-item General Health Questionnaire in postpartum women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

P. N. Nott*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Southampton
S. Cutts
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Southampton
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr P. N. Nott, Department of Psychiatry, University of Southampton, Southampton, S09 4PE.

Synopsis

Two hundred consecutive women from five Southampton general practices who were between 8 and 14 weeks postpartum were visited at home. Each subject was given the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) and a standardized psychiatric interview. Thirty-seven (18%) were identified as ‘cases’ by the psychiatric interview. Eighty-nine (44.5%) scored highly on the GHQ. Analysis of the results indicates that slight modification of the content and a raised cut-off point of the GHQ-30 make it a useful screening instrument for postpartum psychiatric disorder.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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