{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T18:27:13Z","timestamp":1786645633551,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786579200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study evaluated the psychometric performance of the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) in an archived South African recidivist sample. Data from 385 respondents were examined using item descriptives, corrected item-total correlations, confirmatory factor analysis, internal-consistency estimates, exploratory network analysis, and post hoc reduced-item sensitivity models; the network analysis used 327 complete cases. Among the full-scale models, the correlated four-factor model showed the best relative fit, chi-square(344) = 543.81, CFI\u2009=\u2009.944, TLI\u2009=\u2009.939, RMSEA\u2009=\u2009.042, and SRMR\u2009=\u2009.105. The elevated SRMR and several negative or weak loadings, however, indicated residual misfit and possible item-direction or scoring problems. Cronbach\u2019s alpha was.747 for the total score and ranged from.403 to.733 across the four domains. Anxiety\/Insomnia and Severe Depression performed more consistently than Somatic Symptoms and Social Dysfunction. Network results were mixed rather than uniformly convergent with the latent-variable findings. Reduced-item models produced better descriptive fit indices, but they used different item sets, were data-driven, and did not establish a validated short form. Because the original item labels and scoring key were not available for independent verification, domain-level interpretations, especially for Somatic Symptoms and Social Dysfunction, remain provisional. The results provide preliminary support for a multidimensional representation of distress while underscoring the need to verify item direction, reproduce the analyses from the archived code, and replicate the findings in independent correctional samples.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0354025","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T17:28:26Z","timestamp":1786642106000},"page":"e0354025","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Psychometric evaluation of the GHQ-28 in a South African recidivist sample"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Thabile S.","family":"Manengela","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erhabor 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