This study aimed to know the GHQ-12's construct validity in a general, non clinical population. 306 volunteers from different districts in Joao Pessoa, with a mean age of 34 years (SD = 13.8; ranging from 18 to 84), equally distributed with regards to gender (152 men; 154 woman), predominantly high school students (42.5%) participated in the study. They answered a questionnaire in which three measures were incorporated: Satisfaction with Life Scale, Positive and Negative Affects Scale, and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Results indicated that this measure can be considered as bifactorial, with anxiety (a = .66) and depression (a = .81) as the two factors. As expected, both factors correlated with the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Positive and Negative Affects Scale, indicating the construct validity of the GHQ-12. These results are discussed and compared with results of previous studies suggesting a multidimensional structure for understanding mental health in the general population.
GHQ-12; mental health; well-being; satisfaction with life; affects
