Are comparisons of mental disorders between Chinese and German students possible? An examination of measurement invariance for the PHQ-15, PHQ-9 and GAD-7

• Author: Zhou, Yan ; Xu, Jing ; Rief, Winfried
• Subjects: Analysis ; Anxiety ; Anxiety disorders ; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Asian students ; China ; Cross-cultural comparison ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Factor analysis ; Generalized anxiety disorder ; Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) ; Germany ; Glutamate decarboxylase ; Humans ; Measurement invariance ; Medical research ; Mental depression ; Mental disorders ; Patient Health Questionnaire ; Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) ; Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) ; Primary care ; Psychometrics ; Questionnaires ; Students ; Validity
• Is Part Of: BMC psychiatry, 2020-10, Vol.20 (1), p.480-480, Article 480
• Description: The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is one of the most commonly used instruments to assess mental disorders. However, research on its cross-cultural measurement invariance is not yet sufficient. This study examined the measurement invariance of the Chinese and German versions of the PHQ's somatic symptom severity scale (PHQ-15), depressive symptom severity scale (PHQ-9) and seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale as a prerequisite for their use in cross-cultural comparisons. We used online data collected from groups of Chinese students in China (n = 413) and German students in Germany (n = 416). Separate measurement models for each group were examined using confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance testing was conducted to test the cross-cultural equivalence. Findings demonstrated that the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 had partial scalar measurement invariance, but the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the PHQ-15 could not be confirmed. Comparisons of latent means did not indicate differences in the levels of depression and anxiety symptoms between Chinese and German samples. The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 can be used in cross-cultural comparison of prevalence, but the intercultural use of PHQ-15 is more problematic. Findings are discussed from intercultural and methodological perspectives.
  
• Publisher: England: BioMed Central Ltd
  
• Language: English
  
• Identifier: ISSN: 1471-244X
  EISSN: 1471-244X
  DOI: 10.1186/s12888-020-02859-8
  PMID: 33004042
  
• Source: ProQuest One Psychology
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