An Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the GHQ-12 in an English Population of Autistic Adults Without Learning Difficulties.
Emese Mayhew, Lucy Stuttard, Bryony Beresford
PMID 32653976WHAT IT FOUND
The GHQ-12 is an acceptable and reliable measure of distress for autistic adults without learning disabilities.
It works best when scored using the 'Chronic' method, which accounts for long-standing symptoms and provides the clearest picture of severity in this population.
Key findings
01Autistic adults rated the GHQ-12 as the most preferred mental health measure among those reviewed, and 98.4% completed all items without missing data.
02The scale demonstrated good internal consistency and reliability across all scoring methods, with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.80 or higher.
03The 'Chronic' scoring method produced the best model fit and discriminatory power, distinguishing severity better than the Standard or Likert methods.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was recruited from community-based autism services, so results may not generalize to autistic adults not seeking support or those in inpatient settings. The study did not collect data on specific mental health diagnoses, so the scale's performance across different conditions (e.g., anxiety vs. depression) could not be tested. The sample skewed younger (half under 26) and had few non-binary participants, limiting applicability to older adults or gender-diverse groups. Content and face validity were not formally assessed in the study design, relying instead on advisory group feedback.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Health Services and Delivery Research Programme. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the GHQ-12 scores are comparable across different scoring methods. The paper shows that the 'Chronic' scoring method produces a different item difficulty ordering than the 'Likert' or 'Standard' methods, meaning a patient's score can change significantly depending on which calculation is used. Always specify which scoring method was applied when interpreting results.