The value of an improved scoring system (CGHQ) for the General Health Questionnaire in a representative community sample

The value of a new method of scoring the General Health Questionnaire (CGHQ) has been assessed in a representative sample of 6317 British community residents aged 18+. The CGHQ, which takes account of the chronicity of psychiatric symptoms, is found to be superior to the conventional scoring method in yielding a wider range of scores, a more normal distribution and in its close association to a well validated measure of neurotic illness. On the other hand, the conventional GHQ and the CGHQ score appear equally sensitive to a number of socio-demographic variables, including social class, marital status and employment. An important finding is that the two methods identify different individuals as cases. Compared with the GHQ, the CGHQ identifies a higher proportion of the middle-aged. The implications of these findings with respect to the optimal method of scoring the GHQ are discussed.