Factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in subjects who had suffered from the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake in Japan: a community-based study

Toyabe, Shin-ichi; Shioiri, Toshiki; Kobayashi, Kuriko; Kuwabara, Hideki; Koizumi, Masataka; Endo, Toshiya; Ito, Miki; Honma, Hiroki; Fukushima, Noboru; Someya, Toshiyuki; Akazawa, Kouhei

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-175

Cited by 26 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The few studies examining the subset of Functioning symptoms in trauma-affected populations have found similar results. For example, Toyabe et al (2007) found low Functioning scores among a community sample of Japanese adults 2 years after experiencing the Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake. In a household survey of Kosovar Albanians after the Kosovo war, Lopes Cardozo et al (2000) found poor levels of social functioning measured by the GHQ 28-item version.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict

Familiar

Hall²,

Bundervoet³

et al. 2015

Community Ment Health J

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We assessed symptoms of psychological distress among a population-based sample of 9000-plus adults in Burundi during (1998) and after (2007) armed conflict. After exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to an 8-item, self-report measure, we identified two domains of psychological distress "Depression/Anxiety" and "Functioning" with good fit to data. The questionnaire was invariant in males and females. Depression and Anxiety symptoms during conflict were more frequently reported than Functioning symptoms; all symptoms were more frequently reported by women. Psychological distress was found in 44 % of individuals during conflict and in 29 % 2 years after the conflict. Results call for further research in Burundi that can inform the development of mental health interventions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict

Familiar

Hall²,

Bundervoet³

et al. 2015

Community Ment Health J

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“…The psychological stress after a largescale disaster, such as an earthquake, continues for a long period (7,8). Furthermore, the burden on the caregivers at nursing homes in Japan was already problematic before the disaster (9-11) because of long working hours and low pay, which led to a shortage of such caregivers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Caregiver Burden: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sawa

Takase²,

Noju³

et al. 2013

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“…Developed as a screening instrument for psychological distress in the general population, the GHQ-12 has also been frequently used to assess psychological distress in survivors of large disasters [21]. In subjects who had experienced the Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake, the GHQ-12 was higher at 5 months [34] and 2 years after the earthquake [78], predicting an impaired recovery in the ability to cope with daily problems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute Stress Reactions and Associated Factors in the Help-Seekers after the L’Aquila Earthquake

et al. 2012

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Background: The assessment of acute stress reactions and psychiatric symptomatology shortly after the occurrence of a traumatic catastrophic event, like an earthquake, is essential for implementing relief activities and for the identification of the long-term aftermath. The aim of our study was to assess the psychological distress and the occurrence of acute stress disorder (ASD) among individuals seeking help at the General Hospital Psychiatric Unit at San Salvatore Hospital following the earthquake at L’Aquila. Factors (sociodemographic, coping strategies, event-related and postevent variables) associated with the acute stress reactions were also assessed. Methods: For the first 4 weeks following the earthquake, 122 help-seekers were assessed with a checklist of traumatic-event-related variables. Measurement instruments included the Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire (SASRQ) for the detection of ASD according to DSM-IV criteria, the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) for assessing psychological distress, and the Brief Cope questionnaire for assessing coping strategies. Results: Despite the high level of psychological distress (GHQ-12 ≥20, cut-off value) found in 65.6% of the subjects, only 6 subjects (4.9%) could be considered affected by ‘full’ ASD, whereas 48 subjects (39.3%) could be considered affected by ‘partial’ ASD, which is defined as showing at least one symptom on each DSM-IV criterion as evidenced by scoring higher than 3 on each SASRQ scale. The strongest predictor of traumatic stress reactions among all the predictor variables included in our study was having been trapped/injured under rubble during the earthquake, and among earthquake stressors (explaining 20% of variance in our model), a weaker predictor was the loss of personal privacy because of home displacement. In our model, more variance (39%) was explained when individual psychopathological variables and coping styles were also included as predictors. Showing coping strategies as exhibiting ‘behavioural disengagement’ or ‘requesting emotional support from others’ were found to increase the likelihood of a positive estimate of being an ‘ASD case’, while the adoption of an ‘acceptance’ coping style seemed to reduce the likelihood of the positive estimate of being an ‘ASD case’. Conclusions: This study underlines the importance of identifying ASD subsyndromal cases and taking appropriate intervention/prevention measures that focus on giving psychological support to individuals trapped/injured under rubble, showing a low acceptance of reality. A relevant underestimated source of distress was the dislocation in large accommodation settings (such as large tent camps) in which individuals lack privacy.

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Factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in subjects who had suffered from the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake in Japan: a community-based study

Abstract: Background: Factor structure of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was studied by a survey of subjects who had experienced the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake (6.8 on the Richter scale) in Japan.

Cited by 26 publications

References 34 publications

Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict

Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict

Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Caregiver Burden: A Cross-Sectional Study

Acute Stress Reactions and Associated Factors in the Help-Seekers after the L’Aquila Earthquake

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