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Although mental health program development and service delivery have progressed in Malaysia since its independence in 1957, a shortage of mental health professionals remains a main barrier to mental health care ( Haque, 2005 ). Stigma and cultural beliefs about mental illness may further impede psychological help-seeking. An easy-to-use mental health screener such as the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) could be used to streamline mental health service delivery and to facilitate integration into primary health care settings. In this study, we conducted a Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA) across English and Chinese language versions for the GHQ-12 to examine the fit of existing factor structures for the GHQ-12. Participants were Malaysian college students of diverse ethnicities attending 2 schools in Malaysia who completed English or Chinese versions of the GHQ-12 (English subsample, n = 151, Chinese subsample, n = 127). Results suggested that an eight-item version of Ye’s (2009) model provided the best fit for both language versions. However, some items on the Chinese version appear to underestimate general psychological distress compared with the English version, thus potentially limiting its utility. Possible reasons for differential item performance and implications of the study are discussed.

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The term sojourner applies to individuals who are temporarily living outside of their country of origin, and who will eventually return to their country of origin. Sojourners comprise a broad range of travelers including students, tourists, business professionals, military personnel, missionaries, foreign service officers, professors, and other temporary visitors. Despite great variability among the different groups classified as sojourners, they share common experiences associated with cross‐national mobility and multiple acculturation experiences that bind them together as a group. In particular, sojourners must contend with initial cultural adjustment to the host country, followed by a second, often more difficult adjustment of returning to the country of origin.