Quality of life and psychological health indicators in the national social life, health, and aging project.
BACKGROUND
The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) measures seven indicators of quality of life (QoL) and psychological health. The measures used for happiness, self-esteem, depression, and loneliness are well established in the literature. Conversely, measures of anxiety, stress, and self-reported emotional health were modified for their use in this unique project. The purpose of this paper is to provide (a) an overview of NSHAP's QoL assessment and (b) evidence for the adequacy of the modified measures.


METHODS
First, we examined the psychometric properties of the modified measures. Second, the established QoL measures were used to examine the concurrent validity of the modified measures. Finally, gender- and age-group differences were examined for each modified measure.


RESULTS
The anxiety index exhibited good internal reliability and concurrent validity. Consistent with the literature, a single-factor structure best fit the data. Stress was satisfactory in terms of concurrent validity but with only fair internal consistency. Self-reported emotional health exhibited good concurrent validity and moderate external validity.


CONCLUSIONS
The modified indices used in NSHAP tended to exhibit good internal reliability and concurrent validity. These measures can confidently be used in the exploration of QoL and psychological health in later life and its many correlates.
Shiovitz-Ezra
Sharon
S
Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus 91905-IL, Jerusalem, Israel. sharonshi@mscc.huji.ac.il
Leitsch
Sara
S
Graber
Jessica
J
Karraker
Amelia
A
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012107:Research Design; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States