• Designed to measure subjective quality of life in terms of satisfaction within different life domains.
  • Originates from Flanagan’s perception of life satisfaction (Flanagan JC, 1982, “Measurement of quality of life: current state of the art”), which holds that two aspects, importance and satisfaction, must be addressed when measuring QOL.  Importance ratings are used to weight the satisfaction responses, such that scores reflect the respondents’ satisfaction with the aspects of life they value.  Items that are rated as more important have a greater impact on scores than those of lesser importance.
  • Comprised of 4 domains:

1.     Health and functioning
2.     Psychological/spiritual
3.     Social and economic
4.     Family.

Clinical Considerations

Psychometric properties for SCI populations remain to be established, particularly with respect to test-retest reliability.

ICF Domain

Quality of Life

Administration

  • Can be administered in an interview or by client self-report.
  • The scales (satisfaction and importance) are on a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1, very dissatisfied (very unimportant), to 6, very satisfied (very important).
  • Five scores are generated (i.e. total and 4 domains) on a 0 – 30 scale.
  • Administration time is approximately 10 minutes.

Number of Items

SCI version (37 items)

Equipment

None

Scoring

Scoring instructions are available on the instrument website (http://www.uic.edu/orgs/qli/questionaires/questionnairehome.htm).

Languages

The spinal cord injury version is available in English, Lithuanian and French. For other versions (arthritis, cancer, cardiac, etc.), many languages (over 10) are available.

Training Required

Does not require advanced training.

Availability

The Quality of Life Index – SCI can be found here.

Measurement Property Summary

# of studies reporting psychometric properties: 3

Interpretability

  • Scores represent the satisfaction with different aspects of life; a higher score in one of the 4 domains indicates a higher satisfaction with that particular aspect of life.
  • No normative data have been established for the SCI population, but the largest sample of people with SCI’s (May & Warren, 2002) scores on the QLI-SCI were:
  • QLI scores: [ mean, (SD), range]
    • Overall: 21.02 (4.27), 11-30
    • Health & Functioning: 19.92 (4.83), 6.38-30
    • Social & Economic: 21.56 (4.26), 11.75-30
    • Psychological & Spiritual: 21.74 (5.49), 5.64-30
    • Family: 22.94 (5.58), 830

MCID: not established in SCI
SEM: not established in SCI
MDC: not established in SCI

Reliability

No values were reported for the reliability of the QLI for the SCI population.

Validity – High

Correlation of the QLI is High for the Reintegration to Normal Living (RNL) Index: Correlation = -0.652 and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) (Correlation = 0.609).

(May & Warren 2001, 2002)

Responsiveness

No values were reported for the responsiveness of the QLI for the SCI population.

Floor/Ceiling Effect

No values were reported for the presence of floor/ceiling effects in the QLI for the SCI population.

Reviewers

Dr. Carlos L. Cano-Herrera, Tyra Chu

Date Last Updated

31 December 2024

Kovacs FM, Barriga A, Royuela A, Seco J, Zamora J. Spanish adaptation of the Quality of Life Index-Spinal Cord Injury version. Spinal Cord. 2016 Oct;54(10):895-900. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26572603/

May L, Warren S. Measuring quality of life of persons with spinal cord injury: Substantive and structural validation. Qual Life Res 2001;10:503-515.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11789551

May LA, Warren S. Measuring quality of life of persons with spinal cord injury: external and structural validity. Spinal Cord 2002;40:341-350.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12080462

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