Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
The correlations of the QLI and a one-item rating of the overall satisfaction with life (How satisfied are you
with your life? 1 5very dissatisfied to 65very satisfied ) were r5.75 for the students, r5.65 for the patients of the
second sample, and r5.77 for the patients in the third sample ( Ferrans & Powers, 1992 ).Ferrans and Powers
(1992) showed that the means for the socioeconomic subscale differed between lower (less than $10,000 annual
family income; M519.58) and higher income participants ($10,000 and more annual family income; M521.70).
As expected, all other subscales and the total scale did not show any differences between the lower and higher
income participants.
Divergent/Discriminant
Atkinson, Zibin, and Chuang (1997) reported that the overall score of the QLI was not related to educational
level, employment status, years of unemployment, housing arrangement, and social involvement in patients with
schizophrenia ( N569;rs ranging from .01 to .16).
Construct/Factor Analytic
Ferrans and Powers (1992) reported results from a factor analysis with oblique promax rotation utilizing the
satisfaction responses weighted by importance. Examinations of the Scree plot, relative chi-square, simple struc-
ture, and presence of trivial factors suggested extraction of four factors explaining 91% of the variance. The inter-
correlations among the factors ranged from .31 to .60. A higher-order factor analysis yielded a single broad QLI
factor. The first-order factors health and functioning, socioeconomic, psychological/spiritual, and family exhib-
ited loadings of .70, .69, .85, and .48, respectively, on the higher-order QLI factor ( Ferrans & Powers, 1992 ).
Criterion/Predictive
According to Haywood, Garratt, Schmidt, Mackintosh, and Fitzpatrick (2004, p. 72) , following recovery from a
period of intensive care, ‘greater perceived health (and future health), greater social support, and hospital read-
mission explained 51% of the variance in higher QLI scores.’
Location
Ferrans, C. E., & Powers, M. J. (1985). Quality of Life Index: Development and psychometric properties.
Advances in Nursing Science ,8,1 5/C024.
Ferrans, C. E., & Powers, M. J. (1992). Psychometric assessment of the Quality of Life Index. Research in
Nursing and Health, 15, 29/C038.
Results and Comments
The QLI is one of the few measures of life satisfaction for adults that contain multiple items for each domain.
It provides a total score for quality of life and scores for the four subscales: health and functioning, socioeco-
nomic, psychological/spiritual, and family. Results of research with the QLI to date suggest satisfactory reliabil-
ity and validity, although further evidence for predictive validity and construct validity, especially discriminant
validity, is needed. The measure appears to demonstrate usefulness in clinical settings, and it also appears
suitable for healthy people. Different versions have been developed for very different groups of patients (e.g.,
cardiac, respiratory, cancer, and burn patients). Each of these versions includes the same set of 32 core items that
are judged with respect to the individual’s satisfaction and importance. Additionally, items are added to those
core items to address group-specific issues.
Results presented by Ferrans and Powers (1992) showed that the socioeconomic subscale differentiates
between lower and higher income participants. Future research is needed to further investigate the discrimina-
tion of different groups like healthy vs. unhealthy participants, who would be expected to show different means
on the subscale of health and functioning. Additionally, Ferrans and Powers (1992) provided several ideas
regarding how to improve the QLI (e.g., items relating to leisure activities or social support could be split up into
different components to reduce conceptual ambiguity). Finally, the replicability of the factor structure should be
addressed in future studies as well, because Ferrans and Powers (1992) highlighted some sample-specific aspects
of the reported factorial structure of the QLI in in-unit hemodialysis patients.109 OVERVIEW OF THE MEASURES
II. EMOTIONAL DISPOSITIONS