Validation of an Arabic version of the GHQ–28 against the beck depression inventory for screening for depression in war-exposed civilians

Abstract

This study estimates the psychometric properties of the Arabic GHQ–28 against the BDI–II for screening for depression in war-exposed civilians. Two data sets collected in a civilian sample from South Lebanon were analyzed. Internal consistency in the two samples was high for the GHQ–28 (0.91 and 0.80) and the BDI–II (0.88 and 0.84). The BDI–II was significantly correlated with the GHQ–28 total score and the Depression subscale. The GHQ–28 yielded similar findings for depression cut-off scores compared to the BDI–II: for the GHQ–28 total score, a cutoff at 5/6 is recommended for detecting “severe/moderate” depression, and 8/9 for “severe” only, while from the Depression subscale analysis the recommendation was to use 8/9 as a cutoff for “severe/moderate” and 9/10 for “severe” depression. The Arabic GHQ–28 was found to be a valid instrument for screening for depression in the studied population. © Psychological Reports 2015.