This mental health test is a simple and quick tool to check your level of mental distress and well-being. It was based on General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), a test with 12 questions, which can be used in clinical practice to generally assess a person’s mental health.
To find out how your mental health is, take our test, selecting for each question the answer option that best identifies how you have felt in the last two weeks:
Mental health depends especially on a person’s ability to deal with life’s demands and problems and can also affect their physical health, increasing the risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart problems and stroke.
This is not intended to give a diagnosis and, therefore, does not replace consultation with a psychologist or psychiatrist.
What does this test assess?
This mental health test was based on the 12-question version of the questionnaire General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and assesses symptoms that may indicate mental distress based on how the person has felt in the last 2 weeks.
Mental health involves several dimensions of everyday life, from how a person feels emotionally, perceives the situations they experience and relates to other people.
Who can take the test
This mental health test is recommended for adolescents (generally from 10 years of age) and adults, and can be used to identify common mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Discover the most common mental problems.
How the test works
This mental health test presents 12 questions with 4 answer options each, and it is recommended that the person respond taking into account how they have felt in the last 2 weeks.
Each answer has a value that is normally 0 or 1 and, when you finish answering all the questions, a score is given that corresponds to the sum of the values for each answer.
The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 12, with high scores indicating worse mental health. Furthermore, scores greater than 3 or 4 may indicate more intense mental suffering, and it is recommended to consult a psychiatrist or psychologist for an evaluation.
What can influence the result?
The result of the mental health test can be influenced by some factors such as:
- Ageand the questions may not be understood by very young or elderly people, for example;
- Stressful periodssuch as suffering from violence and family or financial problems;
- Ability to deal with problemswhich varies from person to person;
- Psychiatric problemssuch as depression or anxiety;
- Diseases that affect reasoning and/or understandingsuch as intellectual disability or dementia.
In addition, mental health problems can also cause physical symptoms, such as excessive sweating, racing heart and fears. Therefore, the test result can also be influenced by not having specific questions for this type of symptom. Check out the main physical symptoms of stress, for example.
Bibliography
- GL ASSESSMENT. General Health Questionnaire. Disponível em: <https://www.gl-assessment.co.uk/assessments/products/general-health-questionnaire/>. Acesso em 13 out 2023
- COMOTTI, Anna et al. Psychometric Evaluation of GHQ-12 as a Screening Tool for Psychological Impairment of Healthcare Workers Facing COVID-19 Pandemic. With Low. Vol.114, n.1. e2023009, 2023
- HYSTAD, Sigurd W; JOHNSEN, Bjorn H. The Dimensionality of the 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12): Comparisons of Factor Structures and Invariance Across Samples and Time. Front Psychol. Vol.11. 1300,
- CAREPATRON. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Available at: <https://www.carepatron.com/templates/general-health-questionnaire-ghq-12>. Accessed on October 13, 2023
- CDC. About Mental Health. Available at: <https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm>. Accessed on October 13, 2023
- WHO. Mental health. Disponível em: <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response>. Acesso em 13 out 2023
- LÓPEZ-SÁNCHEZ, Maria del P; DRESCH, Virginia. The 12-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12): reliability, external validity and factor structure in the Spanish population. Psychothema. Vol.20, n.4. 839-43, 2008
- ANJARA, SG et al. Using the GHQ-12 to screen for mental health problems among primary care patients: psychometrics and practical considerations. Int J Ment Health Syst. Vol.14. 62, 2020