Community screening for stress by using General Health Questionnaire

일반건강측정표를 이용한 일부지역 주민의 스트레스 수준에 관한 연구

This study investigated the stress of community residents in Kwang-Ju and Chonnam areas by using the General Health questionnaire(GHQ-60) as a instrument of stress measurement. The number of subjects were 445 residents who lived in three areas(large city, middle city, and rural area) and they were individually interviewed in March, 1994. The results of study showed that the degrees of stress measured by GHQ-60 were statistically significant in the residents' area, age, sex variables: (a) the residents in middle city among three areas had the highest level of stress; (b) the residents who were more than 60 in age had the highest level of stress: (c) the female residents had more stress than male residents, (d) particularly, the residents who were more than 60 years old in the middle city had the highest level of stress. Further, the results of factor analysis showed that there were three factors of social dysfunction, depression and anxiety and psychosomatic symptom. The social dysfunction factor was statistically significant in both age and resident area variables. The depression and anxiety factor was statistically significant in the residents' area, age, sex variables. The psychosomatic symptom factor was statistically significant in both age and sex variables. The study suggested that they should give a special attention to solve the old people's stress because stress was closely related to residents' age.