Validation of the Quality of Life Inventory for patients with anxiety and depression.
BACKGROUND
In 1992, Frisch et al (Psychol Assess. 1992;4:92-101) developed the Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI) to measure the concept of quality of life (QOL) because it has long been thought to be related to both physical and emotional well-being. However, the psychometric properties of the QOLI in clinical populations are still in debate. The present study examined the factor structure of QOLI and reported its validity and reliability in a clinical sample.


METHODS
Two hundred seventeen patients with anxiety and depressive disorders completed the QOLI, and additional questionnaires measuring symptoms (Zung Self-rating Depression Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Fear Questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-Stress) and subjective well-being (Satisfaction With Life Scale) were also used.


RESULTS
Exploratory factor analysis via the principal components method, with oblique rotation, revealed a 2-factor structure that accounted for 42.73% of the total variance, and a subsequent confirmatory factor analysis suggested a moderate fit of the data to this model. The 2 factors appeared to describe self-oriented QOL and externally oriented QOL. The Cronbach alpha coefficients were 0.85 for the overall QOLI score, 0.81 for the first factor, and 0.75 for the second factor.


CONCLUSIONS
Consistent evidence was also found to support the concurrent, discriminant, predictive, and criterion-related validity of the QOLI.
McAlinden
Niamh M
NM
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld 4072, Australia.
Oei
Tian P S
TP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D001315:Australia; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires