How to Measure the Mental Health of Teachers? Psychometric Properties of the GHQ-12 in a Large Sample of German Teachers

Abstract

To improve the health status of teachers, there is a need for good and reliable instruments to continuously assess their mental health. The current study proposed the GHQ-12 questionnaire as an appropriate instrument for measuring the mental health of teachers. The GHQ-12 is a well-established screening instrument that has mostly been applied in non-teaching samples. In the current study, the psychometric properties of the questionnaire were analyzed using a large sample of German teachers (N = 3996). The data was collected yearly over an extended period of time (2012–2020). Results showed good to very good reliability, as well as high correspondence to burnout and life satisfaction scales. Principal axis factor analysis supported a two-factor structure: Factor 1 represents “depression/stress” and Factor 2 represents “loss of confidence”. However, the mental health of the investigated teachers was worse than that of a representative sample in Germany. Consequently, this study highlighted the fact that the teaching profession is vulnerable to mental strain and underlined the importance of promoting prevention programs that could help to sustain and foster the mental health of teachers. In this context, the GHQ-12 could be proposed as a good and economic tool to assess and analyze mental health in German teachers. The presented norm could help practitioners and teachers to compare individual scores within a larger peer group.

Research on Ecological Landscape Design and Healing Effect Based on 3D Roaming Technology

“…With the environmental pollution caused by the expansion of high-tech zones as well as the strict COVID-19 prevention and control in China, the R and D personnel are apt to have anxiety, depression, and tension [ 32 ]. There is a sharp increase in the risk of people with mental sub-health transitioning to physical sub-health [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. At present, the flower vegetation patches in the ecological corridor are unevenly distributed with limited varieties.…”

Servant leadership, brand love, and work ethic: important predictors of general health in workers in the education sector

“…A wide range of factors are known to be associated with health status (Hoekstra et al, 2023), such as lifestyle (Isola, 2020), socioeconomic status (Nadi et al, 2020), wellbeing at work (de Ceballos and Santos, 2015), anxiety (Malakoutikhah et al, 2022), perceived disease burden (Nielsen et al, 2015), sociodemographic factors (Tinella et al, 2022), work facilitation (Shi et al, 2022), and work ability (Kisiel et al, 2023). By conducting a thorough review, studies show other multidimensional models, however, it is believed that for this non-clinical study it is better suited using the GHQ-12 (Montazeri et al, 2003;Hystad and Johnsen, 2020;Mayhew et al, 2021;Lütke et al, 2022).…”

The evaluation of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) reliability generalization: A meta-analysis

“…The GHQ-12 has transcended geographical boundaries, demonstrating its utility across diverse populations, cultures, and languages [ 5 , 6 ]. Notably, brevity and adaptability have contributed to its widespread application in clinical and research settings, facilitating a quick yet comprehensive screening of psychological distress and well-being [ 7 , 8 ].…”

“…Among male tannery workers in India, the GHQ-12 was found to be reliable and valid, with a three-factor structure [ 17 ]. In German and Pakistani university teachers, the GHQ-12 demonstrated good psychometric properties, with high reliability and validity [ 6 , 18 ]. A Brazilian-Portuguese version of the GHQ-12 showed good internal reliability and factorial validity in both clinical and non-clinical groups [ 19 ] Overall, these studies suggest that the GHQ-12 is a reliable and valid tool for measuring mental health in various populations.…”