Validation of the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale Revision 4 (SQLS-R4) Among Patients with Schizophrenia.
BACKGROUND
The main goal of psychiatric care is not to be focused only on reducing psychopathological symptoms, but on improvement of the patient's quality of life.


OBJECTIVE
To examine validation and reliability SQLS-R4 among patients with schizophrenia.


METHODS
The sample consisted of 61 outpatients with schizophrenia attending the Psychiatry Hospital "Skopje". nclusion criteria for subject selection were: 1) age more than 18 years, 2) clinically stable (not acutely ill or has not been recently hospitalized at least for the past 3 months). They completed SQLS-R4 and SF36 questioners.


RESULTS
The internal consistency reliability was satisfactory for both the psychosocial and vitality domains (Cronbach's α = 0.928, 0.83). Most of the items were significantly correlated with own scale score (from 0.189 to 0.687). The average of the score for the psychosocial quality life was 39.9 ± 8.6 (sometimes), for the cognition and vitality was 26.5 ± 6.1 (sometimes) (SQLS-R4). There was moderate correlation between SF 36-energy with SQOLS - motivation and energy; SF 36-mental health correlation with SQOLS-psychosocial.


CONCLUSIONS
SQLS-R4 appears to offer excellent potential as an easily administered and patient acceptable assessment and monitoring measure of quality of life (QoL). However, a principle psychometric criterion crucial to the use and validity of the instrument concerns the underlying factor structure.
Psychiatric Hospital "Skopje", Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
Viktor
V
Isjanovski
Psychiatric Hospital "Skopje", Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
Andromahi
A
Naumovska
Psychiatric Hospital "Skopje", Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
Dimitar
D
Bonevski
Psychiatric Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Ss Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.
Antoni
A
Novotni
patients; reliabity; schizophrenia; the Quality of Life Scale; validity