A validity study of the WHOQOL-BREF assessment in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the distribution of the scores, internal consistency, structure, and discriminant validity of the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) assessment in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).


METHODS
Validation study using multitrait analysis and known-groups methods.


METHODS
Community and hospital.


METHODS
Persons with SCI (N=111) and non-SCI respondents (N=169).


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
The WHOQOL-BREF assessment.


RESULTS
The frequency distribution of the 4 domains of the WHOQOL-BREF assessment was nearly symmetric and showed no floor or ceiling effects. All domains showed good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha range, .74-.78), with the exception of the social relationships domain (alpha=.54). The 4-domain structure of the WHOQOL-BREF assessment was confirmed using multitrait analysis. The discriminant validity of the WHOQOL-BREF assessment in persons with SCI was satisfactory.


CONCLUSIONS
The WHOQOL-BREF assessment is suitable for measuring QOL as perceived by a person with SCI.
Jang
Yuh
Y
School of Occupational Therapy, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hsieh
Ching-Lin
CL
Wang
Yen-Ho
YH
Wu
Yi-Hsuan
YH
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001828:Body Image; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012919:Social Behavior; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013624:Taiwan; D014944:World Health Organization