subscales, namely physical health (13 items), subjective feelings (14 items), leisure time activities (6 items), social
relationships (11 items), and general activities (14 items) as well as the two individual items. The three subscales
of work (13 items), household duties (10 items), and school/course work (10 items) are given to participants for
whom those activities are applicable. The General QOL Index is comprised of the average score of all items of the
basic Q-LES-Q. The questionnaire takes between 40 and 45 minutes to administer.
Q-LES-Q-18
The Q-LES-Q-18 consists of 18 items with a 5-point Likert-type response format (ranging from 1 5not at all or
never to 55frequently or all of the time ) and measures four of the five subscales of the basic Q-LES-Q. These sub-
scales are physical health (4 items), subjective feelings (5 items), leisure time activities (3 items), and social rela-
tionships (5 items). The General QOL Index is comprised of the average score of all items of the Q-LES-Q-18.
The completion of the questionnaire takes between 10 and 12 minutes. The items of the basic Q-LES-Q were
selected for the Q-LES-Q-18 in a two-stage process. In the first stage, items were selected that best predicted each
of the subscales of the basic Q-LES-Q. In the second stage, a factor analysis revealed that the subscale of general
activity could not be extracted. Hence, it was excluded from the abbreviated form of the Q-LES-Q.
Sample
Endicott et al. (1993) reported results from 85 outpatients who met the DSM-III-R criteria for major depression.
Their mean age was 39.1 years (ranging from 18 to 63 years) and 59% were female. All participants responded to
the 93 items of the Q-LES-Q.
Ritsner et al. (2005) reported results from 339 inpatients (70.8% male) who met the DSM-IV criteria for schizo-
phrenia ( n5237), schizoaffective, and mood (major depression or bipolar) disorders (total nfor the last two
groups 5102). Their mean age was 38.5 years. All participants responded to the 60 items of the basic Q-LES-Q.
A subset of 199 patients (74.9% male; age: M538.9; n5148 with schizophrenia, n551 with schizoaffective/
mood disorder) completed the basic Q-LES-Q again 16 months after the first assessment.
Furthermore, Ritsner et al. (2005) reported results based on the basic Q-LES-Q of 133 outpatients (76.7% males)
with a mean age of 39.6 years. They all fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia.
Finally, 175 healthy participants (27.1% male; age: M538.4) completed the basic Q-LES-Q. Ritsner et al. (2005)
also reported results for the Q-LES-Q-18 whose scales were extrapolated from the items of the Q-LES-Q.
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Cronbach alpha coefficients of the Q-LES-Q subscales ranged from α5.90 (general activities) to α5.96 (work)
among outpatients with major depression ( Endicott et al., 1993 ). Among inpatients, alpha coefficients for the basic
Q-LES-Q measure ranged from α5.87 (social relationships) to α5.91 (subjective feelings), while the alpha coeffi-
cient for the General QOL Index wasα5.96 (Ritsner et al., 2005 ).
Ritsner et al. (2005) reported alpha coefficients of the subscales of the Q-LES-Q-18 ranging from α5.76 (social
relationships) to α5.80 (leisure time activities), from α5.82 (subjective feelings) to α5.89 (leisure time activi-
ties), and from α5.74 (leisure time activities) to α5.78 (social relationships), for the inpatients, outpatients, and
healthy sample, respectively. The extrapolated general activity scale yielded high alpha coefficients as well
(i.e., α5.78,α5.85, and α5.71 for the inpatients, outpatients, and healthy sample, respectively). The total score
of the Q-LES-Q-18 yielded alpha coefficients of α5.93,α5.96, and α5.88 in the inpatients, outpatients, and
healthy sample, respectively (cf. Ritsner et al., 2005 ).
Test/C0Retest
Test/C0retest correlations (intraclass correlations /C0ICC; two-week interval) of the Q-LES-Q scores of 54 outpati-
ents with major depression disorder ranged from .63 for leisure activities to .89 for school/course work.
However, actual sample size differed for the subscales (i.e., n56 for school/course work; n539 for work; n552
for household duties; remaining scales N554). Furthermore, test /C0retest reliability for the basic Q-LES-Q (and
the Q-LES-Q-18) was examined in a sample of 33 randomly selected outpatients and 35 healthy individuals who
completed the Q-LES-Q twice within a two-week interval. The ICCs of the General QOL Index were .91 and .90
for the Q-LES-Q and the Q-LES-Q-18 in outpatients, respectively as well as .87 and .86 in healthy subjects, respec-
tively. The subscales showed ICCs ranging from .79 to .87 in the basic Q-LES-Q and from .71 to .83 in the Q-LES-
Q-18 for both the outpatients and the healthy sample.116 5. MEASURES OF LIFE SATISFACTION ACROSS THE LIFESPAN
II. EMOTIONAL DISPOSITIONS