Cultural Adaptation Quality of Family Life Scale for the Brazilian Portuguese.

Science.gov (United States)

Jorge, Bianca Miguel; Levy, Cilmara Cristina Alves da Costa; Granato, Lídio

2015-01-01

To culturally adapt the Family Quality of Life Scale to the Brazilian Portuguese version and evaluate the instrument reliability and family quality of life of those who have children with hearing loss. The process of cultural adaptation of the scale followed the steps of the Guidelines for the Process of Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Self-Report Measure. It was conducted in three stages: translation, back translation, and application in a pilot sample, as a way to check the comprehension difficulties of the items. After it had been completed, it was administered to 41 families who have children with hearing loss and, with their results, the quality of life and reliability were analyzed based on the Cronbach's alpha statistical test. In the first version (translation), among the 25 items, there were differences between the translators only in four items; after the corrections, the second version was done (back translation), in which other four more differences were found. Finally, after the final corrections, the last version was developed and used in the pilot sample without differences. Thus, it was applied to families with deaf children, who believe to be satisfied as to their quality of life. The Cronbach's alpha test found that the scale shows a satisfactory reliability. The Brazilian Portuguese version of the Family Quality of Life Scale is a tool of easy use and satisfactory reliability. The families are satisfied with their family quality of life.

Validation and reliability of the Turkish Utian Quality-of-Life Scale in postmenopausal women.

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Abay, Halime; Kaplan, Sena

2016-04-01

There are a limited number of menopause-specific quality-of-life scales for the Turkish population. This study was conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish Utian Quality-of-Life Scale in postmenopausal women. The study group was comprised of 250 postmenopausal women who applied to a training and research hospital's menopause clinic in Turkey. A survey form and the Turkish Utian quality-of-Life Scale were used to collect data, and the Turkish version of Short Form-36 was used to evaluate reliability with an equivalent form. Language-validity, content-validity, and construct-validity methods were used to assess the validity of the scale, and Cronbach's α coefficient calculation and the equivalent-form reliability methods were used to assess the reliability of the scale. The Turkish Utian Quality-of-Life Scale was determined to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the quality of life of postmenopausal women. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrates that the instrument fits well with 23 items and a four-factor model. The Cronbach's α coefficient for the quality-of-life domains were as follows: 0.88 overall, 0.79 health, 0.78 emotional, 0.76 sexual, and 0.75 occupational. Reliability of the instrument was confirmed through significant correlations between scores on the Turkish version of the Utian Quality-of-Life Scale and the Turkish version of the Short Form-36 (r = 0.745, P measuring quality of life during menopause.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Malay Satisfaction with Life Scale

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Swami, Viren; Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas

2009-01-01

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is one of the most widely used scales for the measurement of subjective well-being across the globe, but no satisfactory version exists for use among Malay-speaking populations. The present study reports on the translation of a new Malay SWLS and examines its psychometric properties in a community sample of…

Development of the Chinese version of Meaning in Life Scale for cancer patients and psychometric evaluation.

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Xia, Hao-Zhi; Gao, Lei; Wang, Yang; Song, Hui; Shi, Bao-Xin

2017-11-01

To develop a Meaning in Life Scale for cancer patients in Chinese version and to test the validity and reliability. Meaning in life is a protective factor of psychological well-being and is negatively related to depression and demoralisation among cancer patients. The existing scales measuring meaning in life are mostly designed in English and there is no scale designed for Chinese cancer patients based on Chinese cultural background. Process of instrument development and psychometric evaluation were used. Items were generated from literature review and a focus group interview. Delphi technique was used to test the content validity. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed with data from 251 cancer patients. The internal consistency of the scale was tested by Cronbach's alpha. A 25-item Meaning in Life Scale in Chinese version with five domains was developed. The five factors explained 62·686% of the variance. The Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0·897. The Meaning in Life Scale in Chinese version has acceptable internal consistency reliability and good content validity and acceptable construct validity. The content of the scale reflected the attitudes of cancer patients towards meaning in life based on Chinese cultural background. The Chinese version of Meaning in Life Scale for Cancer Patients appears to be a new scale to assess meaning in life among Chinese cancer patients exactly and the concept of meaning in life presented in this scale provides new ideas of meaning intervention in routine clinical practice. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

River Discharge and Local Scale Habitat Influence LIFE Score Macroinvertebrate LIFE Scores

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dunbar, Michael J.; Pedersen, Morten Lauge; Cadman, Dan

2010-01-01

Midlands of the U.K., we describe how local-scale habitat features (indexed through River Habitat Survey or Danish Habitat Quality Survey) and changing river flow (discharge) influence the response of a macroinvertebrate community index. The approach has broad applicability in developing regional flow...... Invertebrate index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE), an average of abundance-weighted flow groups which indicate the microhabitat preferences of each taxon for higher velocities and clean gravel/cobble substrata or slow/still velocities and finer substrata. 3. For the Danish fauna, the LIFE score responded to three...... of the channel (negative). In both cases, LIFE responded negatively to features associated with historical channel modification. We suggest that there are several mechanisms for these relationships, including the narrower tolerances of taxa preferring high velocity habitat; these taxa are also continually...

Medical student quality-of-life in the clerkships: a scale validation study.

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Brannick, Michael T; Horn, Gregory T; Schnaus, Michael J; Wahi, Monika M; Goldin, Steven B

2015-04-01

Many aspects of medical school are stressful for students. To empirically assess student reactions to clerkship programs, or to assess efforts to improve such programs, educators must measure the overall well-being of the students reliably and validly. The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a measure designed to achieve these goals. The authors developed a measure of quality of life for medical students by sampling (public domain) items tapping general happiness, fatigue, and anxiety. A quality-of-life scale was developed by factor analyzing responses to the items from students in two different clerkships from 2005 to 2008. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Validity was assessed by factor analysis, convergence with additional theoretically relevant scales, and sensitivity to change over time. The refined nine-item measure is a Likert scaled survey of quality-of-life items comprised of two domains: exhaustion and general happiness. The resulting scale demonstrated good reliability and factorial validity at two time points for each of the two samples. The quality-of-life measure also correlated with measures of depression and the amount of sleep reported during the clerkships. The quality-of-life measure appeared more sensitive to changes over time than did the depression measure. The measure is short and can be easily administered in a survey. The scale appears useful for program evaluation and more generally as an outcome variable in medical educational research.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE MODELS FOR LARGE-SCALE DEFENSE SYSTEMS

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Kadir Alpaslan DEMIR

2015-10-01

Full Text Available TLarge-scale defense system projects are strategic for maintaining and increasing the national defense capability. Therefore, governments spend billions of dollars in the acquisition and development of large-scale defense systems. The scale of defense systems is always increasing and the costs to build them are skyrocketing. Today, defense systems are software intensive and they are either a system of systems or a part of it. Historically, the project performances observed in the development of these systems have been signifi cantly poor when compared to other types of projects. It is obvious that the currently used systems development life cycle models are insuffi cient to address today’s challenges of building these systems. Using a systems development life cycle model that is specifi cally designed for largescale defense system developments and is effective in dealing with today’s and near-future challenges will help to improve project performances. The fi rst step in the development a large-scale defense systems development life cycle model is the identifi cation of requirements for such a model. This paper contributes to the body of literature in the fi eld by providing a set of requirements for system development life cycle models for large-scale defense systems. Furthermore, a research agenda is proposed.

Psychometric properties of the satisfaction with food-related Life Scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schnettler, Berta; Miranda, Horacio; Sepúlveda, José

2013-01-01

with proportional attachment per city. Results: The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate level of internal consistency and a good fit (root mean square error of approximation ¼ 0.071, goodness-of-fit index ¼ 0.95, adjusted goodness-of-fit index ¼ 0.92) to the SWFL data (1-dimensional......Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL) scale and its relation to the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in southern Chile. Methods: A survey was applied to a sample of 316 persons in the principal cities of southern Chile distributed...

Brief Self-Report Scales Assessing Life History Dimensions of Mating and Parenting Effort

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Daniel J. Kruger

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Life history theory (LHT is a powerful evolutionary framework for understanding physiological, psychological, and behavioral variation both between and within species. Researchers and theorists are increasingly integrating LHT into evolutionary psychology, as it provides a strong foundation for research across many topical areas. Human life history variation has been represented in psychological and behavioral research in several ways, including indicators of conditions in the developmental environment, indicators of conditions in the current environment, and indicators of maturation and life milestones (e.g., menarche, initial sexual activity, first pregnancy, and in self-report survey scale measures. Survey scale measures have included constructs such as time perspective and future discounting, although the most widely used index is a constellation of indicators assessing the K-factor, thought to index general life history speed (from fast to slow. The current project examined the utility of two brief self-report survey measures assessing the life history dimensions of mating effort and parenting effort with a large undergraduate sample in the United States. Consistent with the theory, items reflected two inversely related dimensions. In regressions including the K-factor, the Mating Effort Scale proved to be a powerful predictor of other constructs and indicators related to life history variation. The Parenting Effort Scale had less predictive power overall, although it explained unique variance across several constructs and was the only unique predictor of the number of long-term (serious and committed relationships. These scales may be valuable additions to self-report survey research projects examining life history variation.

A Review of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale

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Huebner, E. Scott; Seligson, Julie L.; Valois, Robert F.; Suldo, Shannon M.

2006-01-01

There are few psychometrically sound measures of life satisfaction suitable for children and adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to describe the rationale, development, and psychometric properties of a brief multidimensional life satisfaction scale appropriate for use with children of ages 8-18. The paper summarizes extant studies of its…

Psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale in a sample of Chilean university students

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Berta Schnettler

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale is an instrument to assess life satisfaction in children and adolescents in five life domains. However, research on multidimensional life satisfaction in older students, such as those attending university, is still scarce. This paper undertook to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale in a sample of university students from five state universities in Chile. The Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale were applied to 369 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the expected correlated five-factor model of the long version (40 items and the abbreviated version (30 items of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. The goodness-of-fit values obtained from confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the data fit better to the 30-items and five-factor structure than to the 40-item structure. The convergent, concurrent and discriminant validity of the 30-item version was demonstrated. The 30-item version of the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale may be a promising alternative to measure satisfaction in different life domains in university students, and a valuable tool for differential assessments that guide research and intervention on this population.

Responsiveness and sensitivity of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale Danish version

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Muus, Ingrid; Christensen, Doris; Petzold, Max

2011-01-01

To test responsiveness and sensitivity to change of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale Danish version (SSQOL-DK) scores in patients following stroke.......To test responsiveness and sensitivity to change of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale Danish version (SSQOL-DK) scores in patients following stroke....

'Just give me the best quality of life questionnaire': the Karnofsky scale and the history of quality of life measurements in cancer trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmermann, Carsten

2013-09-01

To use the history of the Karnofsky Performance Scale as a case study illustrating the emergence of interest in the measurement and standardisation of quality of life; to understand the origins of current-day practices. Articles referring to the Karnofsky scale and quality of life measurements published from the 1940s to the 1990s were identified by searching databases and screening journals, and analysed using close-reading techniques. Secondary literature was consulted to understand the context in which articles were written. The Karnofsky scale was devised for a different purpose than measuring quality of life: as a standardisation device that helped quantify effects of chemotherapeutic agents less easily measurable than survival time. Interest in measuring quality of life only emerged around 1970. When quality of life measurements were increasingly widely discussed in the medical press from the late 1970s onwards, a consensus emerged that the Karnofsky scale was not a very good tool. More sophisticated approaches were developed, but Karnofsky continued to be used. I argue that the scale provided a quick and simple, approximate assessment of the 'soft' effects of treatment by physicians, overlapping but not identical with quality of life.

Measuring Life Satisfaction in Parkinson's Disease and Healthy Controls Using the Satisfaction With Life Scale.

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Løvereide, Lise; Hagell, Peter

2016-01-01

The 5-item Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was designed to measure general life satisfaction (LS). Here we examined the psychometric properties of the SWLS in a cohort of persons with Parkinson`s disease (PwPD) and age and gender matched individuals without PD. The SWLS was administered to PwPD and controls from the Norwegian ParkWest study at 5 and 7 years after the time of diagnosis. Data were analysed according to classical test theory (CTT) and Rasch measurement theory. CTT scaling assumptions for computation of a SWLS total score were met (corrected item-total correlations >0.58). The SWLS was reasonably well targeted to the sample and had good reliability (ordinal alpha, 0.92). The scale exhibited good fit to the Rasch model and successfully separated between 5 statistically distinct strata of people (levels of SWLS). The seven response categories did not work as intended and the scale may benefit from reduction to five response categories. There was no clinically significant differential item functioning. Separate analyses in PwPD and controls yielded very similar results to those from the pooled analysis. This study supports the SWLS as a valid instrument for measuring LS in PD and controls. However, Rasch analyses provided new insights into the performance and validity of the SWLS and identified areas for future revisions in order to further improve the scale.

Development and Validation of a Life Satisfaction Scale for Chinese Elders

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Lou, W. Q. Vivian; Chi, Iris; Mjelde-Mossey, Lee Ann

2008-01-01

This study reports the development and validation of a culturally sensitive, domain-specific measure of life satisfaction for Chinese Elders--The Life Satisfaction Scale-Chinese ("LSS-C"). The "LSS-C" was administered to 1,502 randomly-selected older Chinese persons in three newly developed towns in Mainland China. Confirmatory…

Life-cycle savings, bequest, and a diminishing impact of scale on growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars; Jensen, Martin Kaae

2009-01-01

The present paper shows that the savings motive critically affects the size and sign of scale effects in standard endogenous growth models. If the bequest motive dominates, the scale effect is positive. If the life-cycle motive dominates, the scale effect is ambiguous and may even be negative....

The revised critical thinking skills scale for a life-and-death course: preliminary scale refinement.

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Hwang, Huei-Lih; Lin, Huey-Shyan; Wang, Hsiu-Hung

2010-12-01

Death education involves acquiring knowledge, changing behavior, and developing proper views of life in both the affective and the value domains. Critical thinking that is honed through reflecting on life-and-death issues represents a way to reach these goals. Designing assessments able to measure college student content and critical thinking skills related to life-and-death issues is thus important. The Test of Critical Thinking Skills for Life-And-Death content (TCTS-LD) instrument requires the administration of additional tests to assess reliability and validity for future use in the assessment of perceptions on life and death. The purpose of this study was to refine the TCTS-LD. A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to recruit 715 college students in southern Taiwan. Three structured scales were administered in class to the participants. Data were collected in 2004 and 2006. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to validate the structure of scales. Examination of the reliability of the three-factor and 15-item scale revealed a Kuder-Richardson coefficient of internal consistency of .54. The split-half reliability coefficients were .47 in the Spearman-Brown correlation and .40 in the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The test-retest reliability coefficients (n = 22) were .58 in Pearson correlation and .56 in ICC. In addition to content validity verification by experts and face validity by students, the validity of this test was assessed using three methods, including (a) a comparable validity rating between this test and the TCTS-A (r = .34, p < .001; (b) a contrast-group technique with different responses to the instrument between those in education and nursing majors (t = 2.71, p < .01), with scores of 10.98 (SD = 2.42) and 9.82 (SD = 2.25), respectively; and (c) a confirmatory factor analysis confirming that TCTS-LD is related to the three dimensions of assumption, evaluation, and induction (χ = 81.800, p = .158, normed chi-square �

Short Personality and Life Event scale for detection of suicide attempters.

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Artieda-Urrutia, Paula; Delgado-Gómez, David; Ruiz-Hernández, Diego; García-Vega, Juan Manuel; Berenguer, Nuria; Oquendo, Maria A; Blasco-Fontecilla, Hilario

2015-01-01

To develop a brief and reliable psychometric scale to identify individuals at risk for suicidal behaviour. Case-control study. 182 individuals (61 suicide attempters, 57 psychiatric controls, and 64 psychiatrically healthy controls) aged 18 or older, admitted to the Emergency Department at Puerta de Hierro University Hospital in Madrid, Spain. All participants completed a form including their socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and the Personality and Life Events scale (27 items). To assess Axis I diagnoses, all psychiatric patients (including suicide attempters) were administered the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Descriptive statistics were computed for the socio-demographic factors. Additionally, χ(2) independence tests were applied to evaluate differences in socio-demographic and clinical variables, and the Personality and Life Events scale between groups. A stepwise linear regression with backward variable selection was conducted to build the Short Personality Life Event (S-PLE) scale. In order to evaluate the accuracy, a ROC analysis was conducted. The internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach's α, and the external reliability was evaluated using a test-retest procedure. The S-PLE scale, composed of just 6 items, showed good performance in discriminating between medical controls, psychiatric controls and suicide attempters in an independent sample. For instance, the S-PLE scale discriminated between past suicide and past non-suicide attempters with sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 75%. The area under the ROC curve was 88%. A factor analysis extracted only one factor, revealing a single dimension of the S-PLE scale. Furthermore, the S-PLE scale provides values of internal and external reliability between poor (test-retest: 0.55) and acceptable (Cronbach's α: 0.65) ranges. Administration time is about one minute. The S-PLE scale is a useful and accurate instrument for estimating the risk of suicidal behaviour in

Quality of Life Scale: A Measure of Function for People with Pain

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Quality Of Life Scale A Measure Of Function For People With Pain 0 Non-functioning 1 2 3 4 ... the week Active on weekends 9 10 Normal Quality of Life Work/volunteer/be active eight hours daily Take ...

Psychometric evaluation of the Danish and Swedish Satisfaction with Life Scale in first episode psychosis patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hochwälder, Jacek; Mattsson, Maria; Holmqvist, Ragnhild

2012-01-01

PURPOSE: To psychometrically evaluate the Satisfaction with Life Scale in two cohorts of first-episode psychosis patients in the Danish National Schizophrenia Project and in the Swedish Parachute Project. METHOD: Four properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale were examined in the Danish cohort....... The dimensions were confirmed in the Swedish sample. CONCLUSION: The Satisfaction with Life Scale shows satisfactory psychometric properties and seems valid and useful among first-episode psychosis patients....

‘Just give me the best quality of life questionnaire’: the Karnofsky scale and the history of quality of life measurements in cancer trials

Science.gov (United States)

Timmermann, Carsten

2013-01-01

Objectives: To use the history of the Karnofsky Performance Scale as a case study illustrating the emergence of interest in the measurement and standardisation of quality of life; to understand the origins of current-day practices. Methods: Articles referring to the Karnofsky scale and quality of life measurements published from the 1940s to the 1990s were identified by searching databases and screening journals, and analysed using close-reading techniques. Secondary literature was consulted to understand the context in which articles were written. Results: The Karnofsky scale was devised for a different purpose than measuring quality of life: as a standardisation device that helped quantify effects of chemotherapeutic agents less easily measurable than survival time. Interest in measuring quality of life only emerged around 1970. Discussion: When quality of life measurements were increasingly widely discussed in the medical press from the late 1970s onwards, a consensus emerged that the Karnofsky scale was not a very good tool. More sophisticated approaches were developed, but Karnofsky continued to be used. I argue that the scale provided a quick and simple, approximate assessment of the ‘soft’ effects of treatment by physicians, overlapping but not identical with quality of life. PMID:23239756

Psychometric evaluation of the Danish and Swedish Satisfaction with Life Scale in first episode psychosis patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hochwälder, Jacek; Mattsson, Maria; Holmqvist, Ragnhild; Cullberg, Johan; Rosenbaum, Bent

2013-04-01

To psychometrically evaluate the Satisfaction with Life Scale in two cohorts of first-episode psychosis patients in the Danish National Schizophrenia Project and in the Swedish Parachute Project. Four properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale were examined in the Danish cohort (explorative investigation) and then confirmed in the Swedish cohort: (1) the factor structure; (2) correlations between subscales; (3) internal consistencies of subscales; and (4) main tendencies (arithmetic means) and variations (standard deviations) of subscales. The relations between the Satisfaction with Life Scale and various life conditions were investigated in the Swedish cohort. For both samples, the analysis indicated that the obtained four-dimensional 11-item scale had satisfactory properties. Moderately high scores were obtained in the four subscales: "living," "social relationships," "self and present life" and "work." They correlated positively with each other, the internal consistencies of the subscales were acceptable and the means for the subscales indicated no apparent floor or ceiling effects. The four dimensions obtained seem relevant and presented good face validity. The dimensions were confirmed in the Swedish sample. The Satisfaction with Life Scale shows satisfactory psychometric properties and seems valid and useful among first-episode psychosis patients.

Relationship between the domains of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale, satisfaction with food-related life and happiness in university students.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnettler, Berta; Orellana, Ligia; Lobos, Germán; Miranda, Horacio; Sepúlveda, José; Etchebarne, Soledad; Mora, Marcos; Adasme-Berríos, Cristian; Grunert, Klaus G

2015-06-01

To characterize types of university students based on satisfaction with life domains that affect eating habits, satisfaction with food-related life and subjective happiness. A questionnaire was applied to a nonrandom sample of 305 students of both genders in five universities in Chile. The questionnaire included the abbreviated Multidimensional Student's Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life Scale (SWFL) and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS). Eating habits, frequency of food consumption in and outside the place of residence, approximate height and weight and sociodemographic variables were measured. Using factor analysis, the five-domain structure of the MSLSS was confirmed with 26 of the 30 items of the abbreviated version: Family, Friends, Self, Environment and University. Using cluster analysis four types of students were distinguished that differ significantly in the MSLSS global and domain scores, SWFL and SHS scores, gender, ownership of a food allowance card funded by the Chilean government, importance attributed to food for well-being and socioeconomic status. Higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness are associated with greater satisfaction with food-related life. Other major life domains that affect students' subjective well-being are Family, Friends, University and Self. Greater satisfaction in some domains may counterbalance the lower satisfaction in others. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Size Scaling in Western North Atlantic Loggerhead Turtles Permits Extrapolation between Regions, but Not Life Stages.

Science.gov (United States)

Marn, Nina; Klanjscek, Tin; Stokes, Lesley; Jusup, Marko

2015-01-01

Sea turtles face threats globally and are protected by national and international laws. Allometry and scaling models greatly aid sea turtle conservation and research, and help to better understand the biology of sea turtles. Scaling, however, may differ between regions and/or life stages. We analyze differences between (i) two different regional subsets and (ii) three different life stage subsets of the western North Atlantic loggerhead turtles by comparing the relative growth of body width and depth in relation to body length, and discuss the implications. Results suggest that the differences between scaling relationships of different regional subsets are negligible, and models fitted on data from one region of the western North Atlantic can safely be used on data for the same life stage from another North Atlantic region. On the other hand, using models fitted on data for one life stage to describe other life stages is not recommended if accuracy is of paramount importance. In particular, young loggerhead turtles that have not recruited to neritic habitats should be studied and modeled separately whenever practical, while neritic juveniles and adults can be modeled together as one group. Even though morphometric scaling varies among life stages, a common model for all life stages can be used as a general description of scaling, and assuming isometric growth as a simplification is justified. In addition to linear models traditionally used for scaling on log-log axes, we test the performance of a saturating (curvilinear) model. The saturating model is statistically preferred in some cases, but the accuracy gained by the saturating model is marginal.

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) : appraisal with 1700 healthy young adults in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arrindell, W.A.; Heesink, J.A.M.; Feij, J.A.

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was developed in the U.S.A. to represent a multi-item scale for the overall assessment of life satisfaction as a cognitive-judgemental process, rather than for the measurement of specific satisfaction domains (e.g. health, material wealth). The present study

The satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS): Appraisal with 1700 healthy young adults in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arrindell, W.; Heesink, J.; Feij, J.A.

1999-01-01

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was developed in the U.S.A. to represent a multi-item scale for the overall assessment of life satisfaction as a cognitive-judgemental process, rather than for the measurement of specific satisfaction domains (e.g. health, material wealth). The present study

Development of the Japanese version of the Quality of Life in Late-stage Dementia Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagata, Yuma; Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Ishimaru, Daiki; Uematsu, Masayasu; Naito, Yasuo; Nishikawa, Takashi

2018-03-01

Until now, there has been no instrument to measure the quality of life (QoL) of patients with severe dementia in Japan. The purpose of this study was to translate the Quality of Life in Late-stage Dementia Scale and to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Japanese version (QUALID-J). We translated the Quality of Life in Late-stage Dementia into Japanese with permission from the original authors. We assessed a total of 70 dementia patients (14 men, 56 women; mean age: 87.4 ± 7.9 years) with the QUALID-J. The test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the QUALID-J was significant. With regard to the criterion-related validity, the correlation coefficient for the total score between the QUALID-J and Quality of Life for Alzheimer's Disease was -0.287 (P quality of life scale for severe dementia. This scale finally enables an adequate assessment of the quality of life of patients with severe dementia in Japan, which has not been possible until now. © 2018 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Academic Life Satisfaction Scale (ALSS) and Its Effectiveness in Predicting Academic Success

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, P.K. Sudheesh; P., Dileep

2006-01-01

This study is undertaken to examine the effectiveness of a newly constructed psychometric instrument to assess Academic Life Satisfaction along with the components of Emotional Intelligence. The Academic Life Satisfaction Scale is used to predict the scholastic achievement as an index of Academic success. The investigators found that Academic Life…

The Satisfaction with Life Scale: : Measurement invariance across immigrant groups

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ponizovsky, Y.; Dimitrova, R.; Schachner, M.K.; Van de Schoot, R.

2013-01-01

The current study examined measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) across three immigrant groups, namely, immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in Israel, Turkish-Bulgarians, and Turkish-Germans. The results demonstrate

The Satisfaction With Life Scale : Measurement invariance across immigrant groups

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ponizovsky, Y.; Dimitrova, R.; Schachner, M.; van de Schoot, R.

2013-01-01

The current study examined measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) across three immigrant groups, namely, immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in Israel, Turkish-Bulgarians, and Turkish-Germans. The results demonstrate

Estimation of residual life of boiler tubes using steamside oxide scale thickness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vikrant, K.S.N.; Ramareddy, G.V.; Pavan, A.H.V.; Singh, Kulvir

2013-01-01

In thermal power plants, remaining-life-estimation of boiler tubes is required at regular intervals for a safer and a better functionality of boilers. In this paper, a new method is proposed for the residual life estimation of service exposed boiler tubes using Non-Destructive Ultrasonic Oxide scale thickness measurements, average metal temperature and creep master curve. While steady state conduction heat transfer equations are solved to calculate the average metal temperature, creep master curve is generated from short term stress rupture data of rupture life less than 5000 h on a virgin material. In the present study, the residual life of T22 (2.25Cr-1Mo) service exposed Platen Superheater tube is estimated using two master creep curves, i.e. Larson-Miller Parametric (LMP) method of standard ASME T22 creep data and Wilshire approach of short term stress rupture data of T22. As the residual life is calculated from fundamental conduction heat transfer theory and creep rupture data, the proposed method can be applied for different grades of boiler materials. -- Highlights: ► Residual life is calculated from non-destructive oxide scale thickness, creep master curve and average metal temperature. ► A new method is proposed for calculating residual life using above parameters and from conduction heat transfer principles. ► The method can be applied to different boiler grades for estimating residual life and hence the method is generic

Validation of the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale in a Sample of Chinese University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Shengquan

2007-01-01

The study aims at validating the Temporal Satisfaction With Life Scale (TSWLS; Pavot et al., 1998, "The Temporal Satisfaction With Life Scale", Journal of Personality Assessment 70, pp. 340-354) in a non-western context. Data from 646 Chinese university students (330 females and 316 males) supported the three-factor structure of the…

Attitude toward euthanasia scale: psychometric properties and relations with religious orientation, personality, and life satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Aghababaei, Naser; Wasserman, Jason Adam

2013-12-01

End-of-life decisions (ELDs) represent a controversial subject, with ethical dilemmas and empirical ambiguities that stand at the intersection of ethics and medicine. In a non-Western population, we examined individual differences in perceiving ELDs that end the life of a patient as acceptable and found that an attitude toward euthanasia (ATE) scale consists of 2 factors representing voluntary and nonvoluntary euthanasia. Also, acceptance of ELDs that end the life of a patient negatively correlated with life satisfaction, honesty-humility, conscientiousness, and intrinsic and extrinsic personal motivation toward religion. These findings provided additional construct validity of the ATE scale.

Longitudinal Invariance of the Satisfaction with Life Scale for Individuals with Schizophrenia

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Lee, Karen Kyeunghae; Brekke, John S.; Yamada, Ann-Marie; Chou, Chih-Ping

2010-01-01

Objectives: This study examined the longitudinal structural stability of a subjective quality of life measure in an ethnically diverse sample of 331 adults with schizophrenia. Methods: Participants completed the Satisfaction With Life (SWL) scale at entry to community-based mental health services and again at 6 and 12 months. Five types of…

Size Scaling in Western North Atlantic Loggerhead Turtles Permits Extrapolation between Regions, but Not Life Stages.

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Nina Marn

Full Text Available Sea turtles face threats globally and are protected by national and international laws. Allometry and scaling models greatly aid sea turtle conservation and research, and help to better understand the biology of sea turtles. Scaling, however, may differ between regions and/or life stages. We analyze differences between (i two different regional subsets and (ii three different life stage subsets of the western North Atlantic loggerhead turtles by comparing the relative growth of body width and depth in relation to body length, and discuss the implications.Results suggest that the differences between scaling relationships of different regional subsets are negligible, and models fitted on data from one region of the western North Atlantic can safely be used on data for the same life stage from another North Atlantic region. On the other hand, using models fitted on data for one life stage to describe other life stages is not recommended if accuracy is of paramount importance. In particular, young loggerhead turtles that have not recruited to neritic habitats should be studied and modeled separately whenever practical, while neritic juveniles and adults can be modeled together as one group. Even though morphometric scaling varies among life stages, a common model for all life stages can be used as a general description of scaling, and assuming isometric growth as a simplification is justified. In addition to linear models traditionally used for scaling on log-log axes, we test the performance of a saturating (curvilinear model. The saturating model is statistically preferred in some cases, but the accuracy gained by the saturating model is marginal.

The Divergent Meanings of Life Satisfaction: Item Response Modeling of the Satisfaction with Life Scale in Greenland and Norway

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Vitterso, Joar; Biswas-Diener, Robert; Diener, Ed

2005-01-01

Cultural differences in response to the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) items is investigated. Data were fit to a mixed Rasch model in order to identify latent classes of participants in a combined sample of Norwegians (N = 461) and Greenlanders (N = 180). Initial analyses showed no mean difference in life satisfaction between the two…

Harmony in Life Scale - Turkish version: Studies of validity and reliability

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Seydi Ahmet Satici

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract This article presents the adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Turkish version of Harmony in Life Scale (Turkish-HiL. The present paper investigates (study 1; N 1 = 253 confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance; (study 2; N 2 = 231 concurrent validity; (study 3; N 3 = 260 convergent and known-group validities; (study 4; N t − t = 50 test-retest, Cronbach alpha, and composite reliabilities of the Turkish-HiL. In study 1, based on a confirmatory factor analysis, results confirmed that unidimensional-factor structure. The results suggested that the model demonstrated a configural and metric invariance across the gender groups. In study 2, Turkish-HiL significantly correlated with measures of satisfaction with life, subjective happiness, positive affect, and negative affect. In study 3, Turkish-HiL was predicted positively by flourishing, conversely, negatively predicted by depression, anxiety, and stress. Finally, in study 4, alpha, composite and test-retest reliabilities are acceptable. Overall, the scale presented here may prove useful for satisfactorily assessing, in Turkish, the harmony in life of the university students.

Improving the psychological evaluation of exercise referral: Psychometric properties of the Exercise Referral Quality of Life Scale

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Charlotte Hilton

2015-07-01

Full Text Available There is a growing need to assess the psychological outcomes of exercise referral and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has called for the routine assessment of life-quality. However, a quality of life scale specific to the requirements of exercise referral is currently unavailable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce a quality of life measure for this purpose. The Exercise Referral Quality of Life Scale is a 22-item measure comprising three domains: mental and physical health, injury pain and illness and physical activity facilitators. Exploratory factor analysis determined the initial factor structure and was subsequently confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Additional scale properties were also assessed. The scale contributes to the global need for improved consistent psychological outcome assessment of exercise referral.

A Watershed Scale Life Cycle Assessment Framework for Hydrologic Design

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Tavakol-Davani, H.; Tavakol-Davani, PhD, H.; Burian, S. J.

2017-12-01

Sustainable hydrologic design has received attention from researchers with different backgrounds, including hydrologists and sustainability experts, recently. On one hand, hydrologists have been analyzing ways to achieve hydrologic goals through implementation of recent environmentally-friendly approaches, e.g. Green Infrastructure (GI) - without quantifying the life cycle environmental impacts of the infrastructure through the ISO Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. On the other hand, sustainability experts have been applying the LCA to study the life cycle impacts of water infrastructure - without considering the important hydrologic aspects through hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) analysis. In fact, defining proper system elements for a watershed scale urban water sustainability study requires both H&H and LCA specialties, which reveals the necessity of performing an integrated, interdisciplinary study. Therefore, the present study developed a watershed scale coupled H&H-LCA framework to bring the hydrology and sustainability expertise together to contribute moving the current wage definition of sustainable hydrologic design towards onto a globally standard concept. The proposed framework was employed to study GIs for an urban watershed in Toledo, OH. Lastly, uncertainties associated with the proposed method and parameters were analyzed through a robust Monte Carlo simulation using parallel processing. Results indicated the necessity of both hydrologic and LCA components in the design procedure in order to achieve sustainability.

The Quality of Life Scale (QOLS: Reliability, Validity, and Utilization

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Anderson Kathryn L

2003-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract The Quality of Life Scale (QOLS, created originally by American psychologist John Flanagan in the 1970's, has been adapted for use in chronic illness groups. This paper reviews the development and psychometric testing of the QOLS. A descriptive review of the published literature was undertaken and findings summarized in the frequently asked questions format. Reliability, content and construct validity testing has been performed on the QOLS and a number of translations have been made. The QOLS has low to moderate correlations with physical health status and disease measures. However, content validity analysis indicates that the instrument measures domains that diverse patient groups with chronic illness define as quality of life. The QOLS is a valid instrument for measuring quality of life across patient groups and cultures and is conceptually distinct from health status or other causal indicators of quality of life.

Psychometric properties of the assessment of quality of working life scale in the urban transport sector

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Hernán Alberto Figueroa-Chaves

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The Quality of Working Life (QWL is the degree of satisfaction, physical, mental and social well-being experienced by people in their working environment; it contains the objective and subjective dimensions. For this study, the subjective dimension of the QWL was addressed, which is formed by occupational health, labor welfare and perception of the work. Objective: To determine the psychometric properties of the assessment of quality of life scale at work in the transport sector. Materials and methods: A quantitative descriptive-instrumental study of the scale was made, which consists of 108 items and was applied to 468 drivers of the strategic system of public transport in the city of San Juan de Pasto. The evidence of Kaiser Meyer Olkin and roundness of Bartlett, the factorial analysis and Cronbach Alpha were calculated. Results: The scale presented appropriate features of validity and reliability. It evaluates two factors: labor welfare and healthy life styles, and the respective scales to be applied are presented. Conclusions: The factorial analysis allows us to affirm that the Scale of Quality of Working Life in the transport sector can be applied in subsequent studies.

Sample Heterogeneity and the Measurement Structure of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale

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Sawatzky, Richard; Ratner, Pamela A.; Johnson, Joy L.; Kopec, Jacek A.; Zumbo, Bruno D.

2009-01-01

Several measurement assumptions were examined with the goal of assessing the validity of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS), a measure of adolescents' satisfaction with their family, friends, living environment, school, self, and general quality of life. The data were obtained via a cross-sectional survey of 8,225…

Chromosome Replication in Escherichia coli: Life on the Scales

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Norris, Vic; Amar, Patrick

2012-01-01

At all levels of Life, systems evolve on the 'scales of equilibria'. At the level of bacteria, the individual cell must favor one of two opposing strategies and either take risks to grow or avoid risks to survive. It has been proposed in the Dualism hypothesis that the growth and survival strategies depend on non-equilibrium and equilibrium hyperstructures, respectively. It has been further proposed that the cell cycle itself is the way cells manage to balance the ratios of these types of hyperstructure so as to achieve the compromise solution of living on the two scales. Here, we attempt to re-interpret a major event, the initiation of chromosome replication in Escherichia coli, in the light of scales of equilibria. This entails thinking in terms of hyperstructures as responsible for intensity sensing and quantity sensing and how this sensing might help explain the role of the DnaA protein in initiation of replication. We outline experiments and an automaton approach to the cell cycle that should test and refine the scales concept. PMID:25371267

Development and validation of the Chinese version of dry eye related quality of life scale.

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Zheng, Bang; Liu, Xiao-Jing; Sun, Yue-Qian Fiona; Su, Jia-Zeng; Zhao, Yang; Xie, Zheng; Yu, Guang-Yan

2017-07-17

To develop the Chinese version of quality of life scale for dry eye patients based on the Impact of Dry Eye on Everyday Life (IDEEL) questionnaire and to assess the reliability and validity of the developed scale. The original IDEEL was adapted cross-culturally to Chinese language and further developed following standard procedures. A total of 100 Chinese patients diagnosed with dry eye syndrome were included to investigate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of scale. Psychometric tests included internal consistency (Cronbach's ɑ coefficients), construct validity (exploratory factor analysis), and known-groups validity (the analysis of variance). The Chinese version of Dry Eye Related Quality of Life (CDERQOL) Scale contains 45 items classified into 5 domains. Good to excellent internal consistency reliability was demonstrated for all 5 domains (Cronbach's ɑ coefficients range from 0.716 to 0.913). Construct validity assessment indicated a consistent factorial structure of the CDERQOL scale with hypothesized construct, with the exception of "Dry Eye Symptom-Bother" domain. All domain scores were detected with significant difference across three severity groups of dry eye patients (P dry eye syndrome among Chinese population, and could be used as a supplementary diagnostic and treatment-effectiveness measure.

The fourth dimension of life: fractal geometry and allometric scaling of organisms.

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West, G B; Brown, J H; Enquist, B J

1999-06-04

Fractal-like networks effectively endow life with an additional fourth spatial dimension. This is the origin of quarter-power scaling that is so pervasive in biology. Organisms have evolved hierarchical branching networks that terminate in size-invariant units, such as capillaries, leaves, mitochondria, and oxidase molecules. Natural selection has tended to maximize both metabolic capacity, by maximizing the scaling of exchange surface areas, and internal efficiency, by minimizing the scaling of transport distances and times. These design principles are independent of detailed dynamics and explicit models and should apply to virtually all organisms.

Identifying food-related life style segments by a cross-culturally valid scaling device

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brunsø, Karen; Grunert, Klaus G.

1994-01-01

-related life style in a cross-culturally valid way. To this end, we have col-lected a pool of 202 items, collected data in three countries, and have con-structed scales based on cross-culturally stable patterns. These scales have then been subjected to a number of tests of reliability and vali-dity. We have...... then applied the set of scales to a fourth country, Germany, based on a representative sample of 1000 respondents. The scales had, with a fe exceptions, moderately good reliabilities. A cluster ana-ly-sis led to the identification of 5 segments, which differed on all 23 scales....

Psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS): secondary analysis of the Mexican Health and Aging Study.

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López-Ortega, Mariana; Torres-Castro, Sara; Rosas-Carrasco, Oscar

2016-12-09

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) has been widely used and has proven to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing satisfaction with life in diverse population groups, however, research on satisfaction with life and validation of different measuring instruments in Mexican adults is still lacking. The objective was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in a representative sample of Mexican adults. This is a methodological study to evaluate a satisfaction with life scale in a sample of 13,220 Mexican adults 50 years of age or older from the 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study. The scale's reliability (internal consistency) was analysed using Cronbach's alpha and inter-item correlations. An exploratory factor analysis was also performed. Known-groups validity was evaluated comparing good-health and bad-health participants. Comorbidity, perceived financial situation, self-reported general health, depression symptoms, and social support were included to evaluate the validity between these measures and the total score of the scale using Spearman's correlations. The analysis of the scale's reliability showed good internal consistency (α = 0.74). The exploratory factor analysis confirmed the existence of a unique factor structure that explained 54% of the variance. SWLS was related to depression, perceived health, financial situation, and social support, and these relations were all statistically significant (P life satisfaction between the good- and bad-health groups. Results show good internal consistency and construct validity of the SWLS. These results are comparable with results from previous studies. Meeting the study's objective to validate the scale, the results show that the Spanish version of the SWLS is a reliable and valid measure of satisfaction with life in the Mexican context.

Factorial invariance of the Satisfaction with Life Scale in adolescents from Spain and Portugal.

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Atienza González, Francisco L; Balaguer Solá, Isabel; Corte-Real, Nuno; Fonseca, António M

2016-08-01

The Satisfaction with Life Scale is one of the most widely used scales to measure the global cognitive judgment of satisfaction with one’s life. This study assesses the equivalence of the SWLS across Spanish and Portuguese adolescents, using multi-sample Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Participants were Spanish (N = 2183) and Portuguese (N = 4082) junior high school. The results provide high support for the internal consistency of both the Spanish and Portuguese versions of this scale. The results also showed that factor structure, factor loadings, could be considered invariant across groups. However, the full scalar invariance between Spanish and Portuguese samples was not found, with the intercept for SWLS item 5 varying across countries. Similar findings have also been found in other cross-national studies with this scale. Implications of the findings are discussed and we conclude that the Spanish and Portuguese versions of the SWLS can be used for cross-national comparisons with Spanish and Portuguese adolescents.

Psychometric properties of the Satisfaction With Life Scale in Parkinson's disease.

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Rosengren, L; Jonasson, S B; Brogårdh, C; Lexell, J

2015-09-01

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a global measure of life satisfaction (LS). The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties (data completeness, scaling assumptions, targeting and reliability) of the SWLS in a sample of people with Parkinson's disease (PD). A postal survey including a Swedish version of the SWLS and demographic information was administered to 174 persons with PD; 97 responded and received a second survey after 2 weeks. The mean (SD) age and PD duration of the 97 responders were 73 (8) and 7 (6) years, respectively. Data completeness was 92% to 97% for the five items in the SWLS and 92% for the total score (5-35 points). The mean score of the SWLS was 24.2 points (7.7), indicating that this group had an average LS. The items' means and SDs were roughly parallel and the score distribution was even. The internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.90. The test-retest reliability, assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient, was 0.78. The scale showed no systematic difference between the first and second response. The standard error of measurement was 3.6 points, and the smallest detectable difference was 10.0 points. This evaluation of the psychometric properties of the SWLS shows that the scale has good data completeness, scaling assumptions and targeting and that the internal consistency reliability and the test-retest reliability are acceptable. Thus, the SWLS is a psychometrically sound and suitable tool to asses LS in people with PD. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Flood Victims Quality of Life Index 2017 (FVQoL-Index'17: scale ...

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Flood Victims Quality of Life Index 2017 (FVQoL-Index'17: scale development ... constructed (adapted and modified) based on the previous standardized instruments. The findings from this study reveal that FVQoL-Index'17 allowed to measure ...

Psychometric properties of the Chinese-version Quality of Nursing Work Life Scale.

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Lee, Ya-Wen; Dai, Yu-Tzu; McCreary, Linda L; Yao, Grace; Brooks, Beth A

2014-09-01

In this study, we developed and tested the psychometric properties of the Chinese-version Quality of Nursing Work Life Scale along seven subscales: supportive milieu with security and professional recognition, work arrangement and workload, work/home life balance, head nurse's/supervisor's management style, teamwork and communication, nursing staffing and patient care, and milieu of respect and autonomy. An instrument-development procedure with three phases was conducted in seven hospitals in 2010-2011. Phase I comprised translation and the cultural-adaptation process, phase II comprised a pilot study, and phase III comprised a field-testing process. Purposive sampling was used in the pilot study (n = 150) and the large field study (n = 1254). Five new items were added, and 85.7% of the original items were retained in the 41 item Chinese version. Principal component analysis revealed that a model accounted for 56.6% of the variance with acceptable internal consistency, concurrent validity, and discriminant validity. This study gave evidence of reliability and validity of the 41 item Chinese-version Quality of Nursing Work Life Scale. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Gencat Psychometric Properties of Scale of Quality of Life in a Sample of Homeless

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Eva María BENITO HERRÁEZ

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this research is to analyse the psychometric properties of the Scale Gencat of Quality of Life in a sample of 72 people users of the Municipal Office of Attention for homeless people in the city of Lleida. The analysis of the 69 items was based on Classical Test Theory and in the Item Response Theory. The results obtained with Cronbach’s alpha show appropiate values ranging between .749 and .853. According to the Rating Scale Model reliability is high, with values higher than .95 in all dimensions. The majority of items fit the model. The most important limitation in the study is the sample size, which reduced its reliability. Despite this, it can be concluded that the scale has sufficient evidence of reliability to evaluate the quality of life for homeless.

The Work-Related Quality of Life Scale for Higher Education Employees

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Edwards, Julian A.; Van Laar, Darren; Easton, Simon; Kinman, Gail

2009-01-01

Previous research suggests that higher education employees experience comparatively high levels of job stress. A range of instruments, both generic and job-specific, has been used to measure stressors and strains in this occupational context. The Work-related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale is a measure designed to capture perceptions of the working…

Validity of the Life Satisfaction questions, the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale in persons with spinal cord injury.

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Post, Marcel W; van Leeuwen, Christel M; van Koppenhagen, Casper F; de Groot, Sonja

2012-10-01

To assess and compare the validity of 3 life satisfaction instruments in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Cross-sectional study 5 years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Eight rehabilitation centers with specialized SCI units. Persons (N=225) with recently acquired SCI between 18 and 65 years of age were included in a cohort study. Data were available for 145 persons 5 years after discharge. Not applicable. The Life Satisfaction questions (LS Questions), the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-9), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). There were no floor or ceiling effects. Cronbach α was questionable for the LS Questions (.60), satisfactory for the LiSat-9 (.75), and good for the SWLS (.83). Concurrent validity was shown by strong and significant Spearman correlations (.59-.60) between all 3 life satisfaction instruments. Correlations with measures of mental health and participation were .52 to .56 for the LS Questions, .45 to .52 for the LiSat-9, and .41 to .48 for the SWLS. Divergent validity was shown by weak and in part nonsignificant correlations between the 3 life satisfaction measures and measures of functional independence and lesion characteristics. Overall, the validity of all 3 life satisfaction measures was supported. Despite questionable internal consistency, the concurrent and divergent validity of the LS Questions was at least as good as the validity of the LiSat-9 and the SWLS. Copyright © 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The application of the drug user quality of life scale (DUQOL in Australia

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Zubaran Carlos

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The concept of quality of life relates to the perceptions of individuals about their mental and physical health as well as non-health related areas. The evaluation of quality of life in the context of substance abuse has been conducted using generic instruments. The Drug Users Quality of Life Scale (DUQOL is a specific assessment tool in which the most pertinent and salient areas to drug abusers are taken into consideration. In this study, the authors report the results of a validation study in which the DUQOL was used for the first time in Australia. Methods A sample of 120 participants from inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities completed a series of questionnaires, including the DUQOL and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF. Parameters investigated in this study included the demographic characteristics of the sample, internal structure, and convergent validity. Correlations between the DUQOL scale scores and the scores of the WHOQOL-Bref test were investigated via Pearson product-moment correlation analyses. Results The English version of the DUQOL attained a significant overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.868. The factorial analysis of the DUQOL identified one principal factor that accounted for 28.499% of the variance. Convergent validity analyses demonstrate significant correlations (p Conclusions This study demonstrates that the DUQOL constitutes a reliable research instrument for evaluating quality of life of substance users in Australia.

Satisfaction with life scale in a representative sample of Spanish adults: validation and normative data.

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Vázquez, Carmelo; Duque, Almudena; Hervás, Gonzalo

2013-01-01

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a measure widely used to assess life satisfaction. This paper aims to test its psychometric properties, factor structure, and distribution scores across age, gender, education, and employment status. For this purpose, a representative sample of the Spanish population (N = 2,964) was used. Although analyses showed no significant differences across age or gender, participants with higher education level and those who held an occupation were more satisfied with their lives. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a unifactorial structure with significant correlations between the SWLS, and subjective happiness and social support. The internal consistency of the scale was .88. Thus, our results indicate that the Spanish version of the SWLS is a valid and reliable measure of life satisfaction within the Spanish context.

Specificity and sensitivity of Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale and Child Anxiety Life Interference Scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arendt, Kristian Bech; Thastum, Mikael

of such questionnaires at identifying anxiety diagnoses compared to structured diagnostic interviews. Aim: The present study examines the specificity and sensitivity of two widely used child and parent report questionnaires of child anxiety symptoms and interference (Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale [SCAS C/P] and Child...... Anxiety Life Interference Scale [CALIS C/P]) based on a “golden standard” diagnostic interview (Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule [ADIS C/P]). Methods Participants The sample consisted of 453 youths between the age of seven and sixteen years and their parents. The sample was combined from five prior....... Results and conclusions: Child and parent versions of SCAS and CALIS demonstrate acceptable AUC on most analyses, but only mother reports on recovery from all diagnoses demonstrate acceptable sensitivity and specificity as well. Mother report generally seem to be better at identifying recovery from...

Reliability and Validity of the Multidimensional Scale of Life Skills in Late Childhood

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Minoru Takakura

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Scale of Life Skills in Late Childhood, an instrument designed to measure a concept similar to “zest for living” in late childhood. A total of 1,888 elementary school students in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades residing in urban and suburban areas as well as in remote islands of 3 prefectures (Okinawa, Kagoshima, and Nagasaki were surveyed. On the basis of our analysis, 24 items and seven factors were extracted. These factors are problem-solving/synthesis, relationship with friends, personal manners, decision-making and future planning, self-learning, collecting and using information, and leadership. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients were computed for each subscale and ranged from 0.71 to 0.87. Test-retest reliability coefficient values ranged from 0.68 to 0.79. To examine the construct validity of the scales, a goodness-of-fit model was determined by confirmatory factor analysis, and satisfactory values were found (GFI = 0.952, AGFI = 0.937, CFI = 0.966, RMSEA = 0.016. The validity of the goodness-of-fit model and the reliability of the scales indicate that the Multidimensional Scale of Life Skills in Late Childhood is an effective assessment tool.

A demand-centered, hybrid life-cycle methodology for city-scale greenhouse gas inventories.

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Ramaswami, Anu; Hillman, Tim; Janson, Bruce; Reiner, Mark; Thomas, Gregg

2008-09-01

Greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for individual cities is confounded by spatial scale and boundary effects that impact the allocation of regional material and energy flows. This paper develops a demand-centered, hybrid life-cycle-based methodology for conducting city-scale GHG inventories that incorporates (1) spatial allocation of surface and airline travel across colocated cities in larger metropolitan regions, and, (2) life-cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify the embodied energy of key urban materials--food, water, fuel, and concrete. The hybrid methodology enables cities to separately report the GHG impact associated with direct end-use of energy by cities (consistent with EPA and IPCC methods), as well as the impact of extra-boundary activities such as air travel and production of key urban materials (consistent with Scope 3 protocols recommended by the World Resources Institute). Application of this hybrid methodology to Denver, Colorado, yielded a more holistic GHG inventory that approaches a GHG footprint computation, with consistency of inclusions across spatial scale as well as convergence of city-scale per capita GHG emissions (approximately 25 mt CO2e/person/year) with state and national data. The method is shown to have significant policy impacts, and also demonstrates the utility of benchmarks in understanding energy use in various city sectors.

Contribution to the discussion of P.M. Fayers and David J. Hand: Causal variables, indicator variables and measurement scales: an example from quality of life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keiding, Niels

2002-01-01

Causal variables; Clinimetric scales; Composite scales; Construct validity; Measurement scales; Multi-item scales; Quality-of-life instruments......Causal variables; Clinimetric scales; Composite scales; Construct validity; Measurement scales; Multi-item scales; Quality-of-life instruments...

Sensitivity and responsiveness of the health-related quality of life in stroke patients-40 (HRQOLISP-40) scale.

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Vincent-Onabajo, Grace O; Owolabi, Mayowa O; Hamzat, Talhatu K

2014-01-01

To investigate the sensitivity and responsiveness of the Health-Related Quality of Life in Stroke Patients-40 (HRQOLISP-40) scale in evaluating stroke patients from onset to 12 months. Fifty-five patients with first-incidence stroke were followed-up for 12 months. The HRQOLISP-40 scale was used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) while stroke severity was assessed with the Stroke Levity Scale. Sensitivity to change was assessed by analyzing changes in the HRQOLISP-40 scores between pairs of months with paired samples t-test. Standardized effect size (SES) and standardized response mean (SRM) were used to express responsiveness. Overall HRQOL and domains in the physical sphere of the HRQOLISP-40 were sensitive to change at different time intervals in the first 12 months post-stroke. Marked responsiveness (SES and SRM >0.7) was demonstrated by the overall scale, and the physical, psycho-emotional and cognitive domains at varying time intervals. For instance, SRM was greater than 0.7 between 1 and 6, 3 and 12, 1 and 9, and 1 and 12 months for both the physical and psycho-emotional domains. The HRQOLISP-40 is a sensitive and responsive stroke-specific quality of life measure that can be used to evaluate the outcome of stroke rehabilitation. Enhancing the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of stroke survivors can be regarded as the ultimate goal of stroke rehabilitation. Sensitive and responsive stroke-specific HRQOL measures are required for use in evaluative studies, and clinical trials and practice. The Health-Related Quality of Life in Stroke Patients-40 (HRQOLISP-40) is a sensitive and responsive stroke-specific scale.

[Psychometric properties of the Activities Daily Life Scale (ADL)].

Science.gov (United States)

Boyer, L; Murcia, A; Belzeaux, R; Loundou, A; Azorin, J-M; Chabannes, J-M; Dassa, D; Naudin, J; Samuelian, J-C; Lancon, C

2010-10-01

Deficits in social functioning are an important core feature of mental health. Recently in France, the Activities Daily Life (ADL) scale has been proposed by the French authorities to assess social functioning for all hospitalized patients in a psychiatric ward. The perspective is to use this scale in the financing and organization of mental health services in France. The ADL scale is a 6-item (dressing/undressing, walking/mobility, eating/drinking, using toilets, behaviour, relationships/communication) heteroquestionnaire completed by a health care professional at the beginning of each hospitalization, assessing functioning of patients suffering from mental health diseases. However, limited consensus exists on this scale. The psychometric properties of the ADL scale have not been assessed. There is a pressing need for detailed examination of its performance. The aim of this study was to explore ADL psychometric properties in a sample of hospitalized patients in a psychiatric ward. We retrospectively analyzed data for all episodes of care delivered to hospitalized patients in a psychiatric ward in our French Public Hospital from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008. The study involved retrospective review of administrative and medical databases. The following data were collected: age, gender, diagnoses based on the International Classification of Diseases - 10th version, ADL scale and Assessment of Social Self-Sufficiency scale (ASSS). The psychometric properties were examined using construct validity, reliability, external validity, reproducibility and sensitivity to change. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 15.0 and WINSTEP software. A total of 1066 patients completed the ADL scale. Among them, 49.7% were male, mean age was 36.5 ± 10.8, and 83.5% were single. Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders (40.0%), mood disorders (27.9%) and mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use (12%) were the most common diagnoses. Factor

Life Satisfaction in Brazil: Testing the Psychometric Properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in Five Brazilian Samples

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Gouveia, Valdiney V.; Milfont, Taciano L.; da Fonseca, Patricia Nunes; Coelho, Jorge Artur Pecanha de Miranda

2009-01-01

The aim of this paper was to validate the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), presenting evidence of its reliability and construct and criterion-related validity. A large Brazilian sample (2,180 participants), from five different populations (undergraduate and high school students, general population,…

The ProQOL-21: A revised version of the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL scale based on Rasch analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brody Heritage

Full Text Available The Professional Quality of Life scale is a measure intended to provide practitioners and researchers with an indication of a caring professional's compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. While this measure has been used extensively in nursing research, owing to the relevancy of patient-care associated satisfaction and fatigue within this profession, information regarding the construct validity of this measure is less well represented in the literature. We examined the construct validity of the Professional Quality of Life scale using a Rasch analysis procedure on each of its three scales, as a means of substantiating their measurement adequacy. Responses on the Professional Quality of Life scale from 1615 registered nurses (age x̅ = 46.48 years, SD = 11.78 were analysed. While support for the measurement adequacy (invariance, person/item fit, and unidimensionality of the compassion satisfaction scale was found, the burnout and secondary traumatic stress scales did not demonstrate adequate measurement properties. We instead present an alternative measurement model of these subscales, involving items from each, to form a robust measure of compassion fatigue, and provide recoding, scoring, and normed scores for both measures. Our findings indicate that use of the Professional Quality of Life scale's burnout and secondary traumatic stress scales may require caution, while our revised compassion satisfaction and fatigue scales provide robust measurement options for practitioners and researchers.

Development and validation of a Thai stressful life events rating scale for patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenic methamphetamine abuse

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Ek-uma Imkome; JintanaYunibhand; Waraporn Chaiyawat

2017-01-01

This study aimed to psychometrically test a Thai Stressful Life Events Rating Scale (TSLERS). Factor analysis was done on data collected from 313 patients with schizophrenia and methamphetamine abuse in Thailand from April to May, 2015. Results identified the following problems impacting physical and mental health: social relationship and social concerns, money, family life, life security, and career. Evaluation of the psychometric scale properties demonstrated acceptable validity ...

The ProQOL-21: A revised version of the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale based on Rasch analysis

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Rees, Clare S.; Hegney, Desley G.

2018-01-01

The Professional Quality of Life scale is a measure intended to provide practitioners and researchers with an indication of a caring professional’s compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. While this measure has been used extensively in nursing research, owing to the relevancy of patient-care associated satisfaction and fatigue within this profession, information regarding the construct validity of this measure is less well represented in the literature. We examined the construct validity of the Professional Quality of Life scale using a Rasch analysis procedure on each of its three scales, as a means of substantiating their measurement adequacy. Responses on the Professional Quality of Life scale from 1615 registered nurses (age x̅ = 46.48 years, SD = 11.78) were analysed. While support for the measurement adequacy (invariance, person/item fit, and unidimensionality) of the compassion satisfaction scale was found, the burnout and secondary traumatic stress scales did not demonstrate adequate measurement properties. We instead present an alternative measurement model of these subscales, involving items from each, to form a robust measure of compassion fatigue, and provide recoding, scoring, and normed scores for both measures. Our findings indicate that use of the Professional Quality of Life scale’s burnout and secondary traumatic stress scales may require caution, while our revised compassion satisfaction and fatigue scales provide robust measurement options for practitioners and researchers. PMID:29489875

The development and validation of the Epilepsy and Learning Disabilities Quality of Life (ELDQOL) scale.

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Buck, Deborah; Smith, Monica; Appleton, Richard; Baker, Gus A; Jacoby, Ann

2007-02-01

Few suitable instruments exist for use with people, especially children, with both epilepsy and learning disabilities. One such measure is the Epilepsy and Learning Disabilities Quality of Life scale (ELDQOL), which has recently undergone revision following feedback from relevant users. This article reports on the final psychometric testing phase of this scale. ELDQOL consists of 70 items covering seizure severity, seizure-related injuries, antiepileptic drug side effects, behavior, mood, physical, cognitive, and social functioning, parental concern, communication, overall quality of life, and overall health. Revalidation involved a qualitative phase, to ascertain users' opinions on the wording, coverage, and layout of the questionnaire, and a quantitative phase, to examine internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and validity. There is very good evidence of the reliability and validity of the final version of ELDQOL, making it a promising instrument for assessing quality of life in children/young adults with epilepsy and learning disabilities.

[Development of social activities-related daily life satisfaction scale for the elderly and evaluation of its reliability and validity].

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Okamoto, Hideaki

2010-07-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a Social Activities-Related Daily Life Satisfaction Scale specifically applicable to elderly people in communities and to evaluate its reliability and validity. Sixteen items were extracted from an initial pool and assessed for inclusion in the scale by correlation and exploratory factor analyses. To confirm validity, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and correlation coefficients were calculated. In addition, t-tests were performed in order to generate scores of the subscale related to activity. To prove reliability, Cronbach's coefficient alpha values were calculated. Data for 755 older adults aged 65 to 84 years were obtained from a mail survey in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture. Exploratory factor analyses indicated that four factors, "satisfaction with learning" (four items), "satisfaction with usefulness to others and society" (four items), "satisfaction with health and physical strength" (three items), and "satisfaction with friends" (three items) should be extracted. Confirmatory factor analysis for assessing the 14-item four-factor model showed high goodness of fit indices (GFI = 0.943, AGFI = 0.915, RMSEA = 0.068). Concurrent validity was established by comparing the score of the scale with five external variables (Activity and Daily Life Satisfaction Scale for the Elderly, Life Satisfaction Index K, etc). Student's t-tests revealed that each score of the subscale was positively associated with activity variable. The overall Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the scale was 0.919 and for its four subscales values ranged from 0.814 to 0.887. A Social Activities-Related Daily Life Satisfaction Scale was derived consisting of four subscales, "satisfaction with learning", "satisfaction with usefulness to others and society", "satisfaction with health and physical strength", and "satisfaction with friends". The results of the present study suggested that the Social Activities-Related Daily Life Satisfaction Scale

Quality of life in patients with cognitive impairment: validation of the Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease scale in Portugal.

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Bárrios, Helena; Verdelho, Ana; Narciso, Sofia; Gonçalves-Pereira, Manuel; Logsdon, Rebecca; de Mendonça, Alexandre

2013-07-01

Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) is a widely used scale for the study of quality of life in patients with dementia. The aim of this study is the transcultural adaptation and validation of the QOL-AD scale in Portugal. Translation and transcultural adaptation was performed according to state-of-the-art recommendations. For the validation study, 104 patient/caregiver pairs were enrolled. Patients had mild cognitive impairment or mild-to-moderate dementia (due to Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia). Participants were recruited in a dementia outpatient clinic setting and a long-term care dementia ward. An additional comparison group of 22 patients without cognitive impairment, and their proxies, was recruited in a family practice outpatient clinic. Sociodemographic information on patients and caregivers was obtained. Acceptability, reliability, and construct validity were analyzed. Internal consistency of the Portuguese version of QOL-AD was good for both patient and caregiver report (Cronbach's α = 0.867 and 0.858, respectively). Construct validity was confirmed by the correlation of patient reported QOL-AD with patient geriatric depression scale scores (ρ = -0.702, p cognitive impairment than in the comparison group without cognitive impairment (p < 0.01). A Portuguese version of QOL-AD with consistent psychometric properties was obtained and is proposed as a useful tool for research and clinical purposes.

A new quality of life scale for teenagers with food hypersensitivity.

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Mackenzie, Heather; Roberts, Graham; Van Laar, Darren; Dean, Taraneh

2012-08-01

A disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQL) scale enables the impact of current and new interventions on the HRQL of teenagers with food hypersensitivity (FHS) to be evaluated. No such scale exists for teenagers with FHS living in the U.K. This research aimed to develop and validate a disease-specific HRQL scale for this group, thus facilitating HRQL measurement in this population. A preliminary 51-item questionnaire was generated from interviews with 21 teenagers with FHS, the coverage and acceptability of which was refined in pre- and pilot testing (N = 102). On the basis of the field test data (N = 299), principal components analysis identified those items best measuring HRQL. The final 34-item You and Your Food Allergy scale covered five domains: social well-being and independence, support, day-to-day activities, family relations and emotional well-being. The whole scale displayed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.92) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.87). The scale correlated as hypothesised with a generic HRQL scale (PedsQL) and discriminated by disease severity, providing evidence for its construct validity. The You and Your Food Allergy scale is the first HRQL scale to have been developed and validated with U.K. teenagers with FHS. Subject to further evaluation of its psychometric properties, its development has important applications in future research into the HRQL of teenagers with FHS. Short and easy-to-complete, the scale has been designed to appeal to teenagers and is likely to be useful to facilitate discussion of HRQL issues. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Quality of life and hormone use: new validation results of MRS scale

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Heinemann Lothar AJ

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Menopause Rating Scale is a health-related Quality of Life scale developed in the early 1990s and step-by-step validated since then. Recently the MRS scale was validated as outcomes measure for hormone therapy. The suspicion however was expressed that the data were too optimistic due to methodological problems of the study. A new study became available to check how founded this suspicion was. Method An open post-marketing study of 3282 women with pre- and post- treatment data of the self-administered version of the MRS scale was analyzed to evaluate the capacity of the scale to detect hormone treatment related effects with the MRS scale. The main results were then compared with the old study where the interview-based version of the MRS scale was used. Results The hormone-therapy related improvement of complaints relative to the baseline score was about or less than 30% in total or domain scores, whereas it exceeded 30% improvement in the old study. Similarly, the relative improvement after therapy, stratified by the degree of severity at baseline, was lower in the new than in the old study, but had the same slope. Although we cannot exclude different treatment effects with the study method used, this supports our hypothesis that the individual MRS interviews performed by the physician biased the results towards over-estimation of the treatment effects. This hypothesis is underlined by the degree of concordance of physician's assessment and patient's perception of treatment success (MRS results: Sensitivity (correct prediction of the positive assessment by the treating physician of the MRS and specificity (correct prediction of a negative assessment by the physician were lower than the results obtained with the interview-based MRS scale in the previous publication. Conclusion The study confirmed evidence for the capacity of the MRS scale to measure treatment effects on quality of life across the full range of severity of

Sources of Life Strengths Appraisal Scale: A Multidimensional Approach to Assessing Older Adults’ Perceived Sources of Life Strengths

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Prem S. Fry

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Both cognitive and psychosocial theories of adult development stress the fundamental role of older adults’ appraisals of the diverse sources of cognitive and social-emotional strengths. This study reports the development of a new self-appraisal measure that incorporates key theoretical dimensions of internal and external sources of life strengths, as identified in the gerontological literature. Using a pilot study sample and three other independent samples to examine older adults’ appraisals of their sources of life strengths which helped them in their daily functioning and to combat life challenges, adversity, and losses, a psychometric instrument having appropriate reliability and validity properties was developed. A 24-month followup of a randomly selected sample confirmed that the nine-scale appraisal measure (SLSAS is a promising instrument for appraising older adults’ sources of life strengths in dealing with stresses of daily life’s functioning and also a robust measure for predicting outcomes of resilience, autonomy, and well-being for this age group. A unique strength of the appraisal instrument is its critically relevant features of brevity, simplicity of language, and ease of administration to frail older adults.

The associations between work-life balance behaviours, teamwork climate and safety climate: cross-sectional survey introducing the work-life climate scale, psychometric properties, benchmarking data and future directions.

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Sexton, J Bryan; Schwartz, Stephanie P; Chadwick, Whitney A; Rehder, Kyle J; Bae, Jonathan; Bokovoy, Joanna; Doram, Keith; Sotile, Wayne; Adair, Kathryn C; Profit, Jochen

2017-08-01

Improving the resiliency of healthcare workers is a national imperative, driven in part by healthcare workers having minimal exposure to the skills and culture to achieve work-life balance (WLB). Regardless of current policies, healthcare workers feel compelled to work more and take less time to recover from work. Satisfaction with WLB has been measured, as has work-life conflict, but how frequently healthcare workers engage in specific WLB behaviours is rarely assessed. Measurement of behaviours may have advantages over measurement of perceptions; behaviours more accurately reflect WLB and can be targeted by leaders for improvement. 1. To describe a novel survey scale for evaluating work-life climate based on specific behavioural frequencies in healthcare workers.2. To evaluate the scale's psychometric properties and provide benchmarking data from a large healthcare system.3. To investigate associations between work-life climate, teamwork climate and safety climate. Cross-sectional survey study of US healthcare workers within a large healthcare system. 7923 of 9199 eligible healthcare workers across 325 work settings within 16 hospitals completed the survey in 2009 (86% response rate). The overall work-life climate scale internal consistency was Cronbach α=0.790. t-Tests of top versus bottom quartile work settings revealed that positive work-life climate was associated with better teamwork climate, safety climate and increased participation in safety leadership WalkRounds with feedback (pwork setting. The work-life climate scale exhibits strong psychometric properties, elicits results that vary widely by work setting, discriminates between positive and negative workplace norms, and aligns well with other culture constructs that have been found to correlate with clinical outcomes. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Satisfaction with Life Scale (SLS-6): First validation study in Parkinson's disease population.

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Ambrosio, Leire; Portillo, Mari Carmen; Rodriguez-Blazquez, Carmen; Martínez-Castrillo, Juan Carlos; Rodriguez-Violante, Mayela; Serrano-Dueñas, Marcos; Campos-Arillo, Víctor; Garretto, Nelida Susana; Arakaki, Tomoko; Álvarez, Mario; Pedroso-Ibáñez, Ivonne; Carvajal, Ana; Martinez-Martin, Pablo

2016-04-01

To explore the psychometric attributes of a new Satisfaction with Life Scale (SLS-6) in a wide Spanish-speaking population with Parkinson's disease (PD). This was an international, cross-sectional study. Several rater-based and patient-reported outcomes measures for evaluation of PD (e.g., Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Motor) and other constructs (e.g., Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire, Scale for Living with Chronic Illness) were applied together with the SLS-6. Acceptability, scaling assumptions, reliability, precision, and construct validity were tested. The study included 324 patients from five countries, with age (mean ± standard deviation) 66.67 ± 10.68 years. None of the SLS-6 items had missing values and all acceptability parameters fulfilled the standard criteria. Scaling assumptions allowed the calculation of a summary index from items 2 to 6, complementary to the global evaluation (item 1). For these five items, Cronbach's alpha was 0.85; the corrected item-total correlation 0.53-0.73; inter-item correlation, 0.45-0.70, with an item homogeneity index of 0.55. The standard error of measurement, based on Cronbach's alpha for a single observation, was 3.48. SLS-6 correlations were moderate to strong (rs ≥ 0.35) with the patient-reported outcomes and weak to moderate with the rater-based assessments used in the study. The SLS-6 total score was significantly different according to PD severity levels established according to Hoehn and Yahr staging, Clinical Impression of Severity Index, and Patient-Based Global Impression of Severity scale. The results suggest that SLS-6 is an easy, feasible, acceptable, consistent, precise and valid measure to evaluate satisfaction with life in PD patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of a Thai stressful life events rating scale for patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenic methamphetamine abuse

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Ek-uma Imkome

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to psychometrically test a Thai Stressful Life Events Rating Scale (TSLERS. Factor analysis was done on data collected from 313 patients with schizophrenia and methamphetamine abuse in Thailand from April to May, 2015. Results identified the following problems impacting physical and mental health: social relationship and social concerns, money, family life, life security, and career. Evaluation of the psychometric scale properties demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. TSLERS provided scientific and empirical data about stressful life events of patients with schizophrenia and methamphetamine abuse, and was suitable for stress detection and suggesting further innovations.

Psychometric testing of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer scale in an Iranian sample of family caregivers to newly diagnosed breast cancer women.

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Khanjari, Sedigheh; Oskouie, Fatemeh; Langius-Eklöf, Ann

2012-02-01

To translate and test the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer scale. Research across many countries has determined quality of life of cancer patients, but few attempts have been made to measure the quality of life of family caregivers of patients with breast cancer. The Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer scale was developed for this purpose, but until now, it has not been translated into or tested in the Persian language. Methodological research design. After standard translation, the 35-item Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer scale was administered to 166 Iranian family caregivers of patients with breast cancer. A confirmatory factor analysis was carried out using LISREL to test the scale's construct validity. Further, the internal consistency and convergent validity of the instrument were tested. For convergent validity, four instruments were used in the study: sense of coherence scale, spirituality perspective scale, health index and brief religious coping scale. The confirmatory factor analysis resulted in the same four-factor structure as the original, though, with somewhat different item loadings. The Persian version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer scales had satisfactory internal consistency (0·72-0·90). Tests of convergent validity showed that all hypotheses were confirmed. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis additionally confirmed the convergent validity between the total Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer score and sense of coherence (β = 0·34), negative religious coping (β = -0·21), education (β = 0·24) and the more severe stage of breast cancer (β = 0·23), in total explaining 41% of the variance. The Persian version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer scale could be a reliable and valid measure in Iranian family caregivers of patients with breast cancer. The Persian version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer scale is simple to

Psychometric Testing of Two Chinese-Version Scales on Attitudes Toward and Caregiving Behaviors for End-of-Life Patients and Families.

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Yang, Luke; Liu, Yung-Fang; Sun, Huey-Fang; Chiang, Hsien-Hsien; Tsai, Yu-Lun; Liaw, Jen-Jiuan

2017-03-01

The study purpose was to examine the validities and reliabilities of the Chinese-versions Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale (Attitudes Scale) and Caregiving Behaviors Scale for End-of-Life Patients and Families (Behaviors Scale). The scales were tested in a convenience sample of 318 nurses with ≥6 months work experience at three hospitals. Cronbach's alphas of the Attitudes and Behaviors Scales were .90 and .96, respectively. Each scale had Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index >.85 and Bartlett's test of sphericity >4000 ( p < .001). Attitudes Scale loaded on three factors: respecting and caring for dying patients and families, avoiding care of the dying, and involving patients and families in end-of-life care. The Behaviors Scale loaded on two factors: supporting dying patients and families, and helping families cope with grief. Factor loadings for both scales were ≥.49. Both Attitudes and Behaviors Scales are reliable and valid for evaluating nurses' attitudes and caregiving behaviors for the dying.

Life satisfaction after traumatic brain injury: comparison of ratings with the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS).

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Jacobsson, Lars; Lexell, Jan

2016-01-15

An optimal life satisfaction (LS) is considered an important long-term outcome after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is, however, not clear to what extent a single instrument captures all aspects of LS, and different instruments may be needed to comprehensively describe LS. The aim of this study was to compare self-ratings of life satisfaction after a TBI with two commonly used instruments. Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11), comprising eleven items and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), comprising five items, were administered to 67 individuals (51 men and 16 women). Secondary analysis of data collected as part of a survey of individuals with TBI 6 to 15 years post TBI. Item 1 in LiSat-11 ('Life as a whole') and the total SWLS score was strongly correlated (Spearman's rho = 0.66; p life' and 'Partner relationship', were moderately to strongly correlated with items in SWLS. The item 'Partner relationship' in LiSat-11 did not correlate with any of the items in SWLS or the total score. The item 'If I could live my life over, I would change nothing' in SWLS had the weakest correlations with items in LiSat-11. Items 'Vocation' and 'Leisure' in LISat-11 were most strongly correlated with items in SWLS, whereas the item 'ADL' in LiSat-11 was more weakly correlated with items in SWLS. The strength of the relationships implies that the two instruments assess similar but not identical aspects of LS and therefore complement each other when it is rated.

Cross-cultural measurement invariance in the satisfaction with food-related life scale in older adults from two developing countries.

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Schnettler, Berta; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo; Lobos, Germán; Lapo, María; Grunert, Klaus G; Adasme-Berríos, Cristian; Hueche, Clementina

2017-05-30

Nutrition is one of the major determinants of successful aging. The Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL) scale measures a person's overall assessment regarding their food and eating habits. The SWFL scale has been used in older adult samples across different countries in Europe, Asia and America, however, there are no studies that have evaluated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the scale in older adult samples. Therefore, we evaluated the measurement invariance of the SWFL scale across older adults from Chile and Ecuador. Stratified random sampling was used to recruit a sample of older adults of both genders from Chile (mean age = 71.38, SD = 6.48, range = 60-92) and from Ecuador (mean age = 73.70, SD = 7.45, range = 60-101). Participants reported their levels of satisfaction with food-related life by completing the SWFL scale, which consists of five items grouped into a single dimension. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine cross-cultural measurement invariance of the SWFL scale. Results showed that the SWFL scale exhibited partial measurement invariance, with invariance of all factor loadings, invariance in all but one item's threshold (item 1) and invariance in all items' uniqueness (residuals), which leads us to conclude that there is a reasonable level of partial measurement invariance for the CFA model of the SWFL scale, when comparing the Chilean and Ecuadorian older adult samples. The lack of invariance in item 1 confirms previous studies with adults and emerging adults in Chile that suggest this item is culture-sensitive. We recommend revising the wording of the first item of the SWFL in order to relate the statement with the person's life. The SWFL scale shows partial measurement invariance across older adults from Chile and Ecuador. A 4-item version of the scale (excluding item 1) provides the basis for international comparisons of satisfaction with food-related life in older adults from developing

QLiS--development of a schizophrenia-specific quality-of-life scale.

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Franz, Michael; Fritz, Michael; Gallhofer, Bernd; Meyer, Thorsten

2012-06-07

The aim of the project was to develop an instrument for the assessment of subjective quality of life specific to schizophrenic persons on the basis of patients' views on their own life and on sound psychometric principles. The project applied a six-step multiphase development process with six distinct studies. (1) The elicitation of schizophrenic persons' views on their quality of life was based on open-ended interviews with interviewees from different settings (acute ward inpatients, long-term care patients, community care patients; n = 268). (2) A cross-sectional study with schizophrenic and healthy persons was conducted to quantify the relative importance of the various aspect of quality of life that emerged from the qualitative study (n = 143). (3) We conducted an empirical comparison of response formats with schizophrenic persons (n = 32). (4) A scale construction- and reliability-testing study was performed (n = 203) as well as (5) a test-retest reliability study (n = 49). (6) The final questionnaire (QLiS, quality of life in schizophrenia) was tested in an additional study on convergent and discriminant validity (n = 135). The QLiS comprises 52 items (plus 2 optional items related to work) in 12 subscales: social contacts, appreciation by others, relationship to family, appraisal of pharmacotherapy, appraisal of psychopathological symptoms, cognitive functioning, abilities to manage daily living, appraisal of accommodation/housing, financial situation, leading a 'normal' life, confidence, general life-satisfaction. An item response format with four response categories was preferred by the schizophrenic persons. The mean values of the subscales clustered around the theoretical mean of the subscales and only minimal ceiling effects were found. The reliability (test-retest-reliability and internal consistency) was with one exception > .70 for all subscales. Taking the low numbers of items per subscale into account, the QLiS can be regarded as an accurate

Adaptation to Spanish language and validation of the fecal incontinence quality of life scale.

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Minguez, Miguel; Garrigues, Vicente; Soria, Maria Jose; Andreu, Montserrat; Mearin, Fermin; Clave, Pere

2006-04-01

The aim of this study was to perform a psychometric evaluation of the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale in the Spanish language. Eleven hospitals in Spain participated in the study, which included 118 patients with active fecal incontinence. All the patients filled out a questionnaire on the severity of their incontinence, a general questionnaire of health (Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form), and a Spanish translation of the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale (Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida de Incontinencia Anal), which consists of 29 items in four domains: lifestyle, behavior, depression, and embarrassment. On a second visit, patients repeated the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale. For each domain, an evaluation was made of temporal reliability, internal reliability, the convergent validity with the generic questionnaire of health, and the discriminant validity correlating the domains of Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida de Incontinencia Anal with the severity of fecal incontinence. For cultural adaptation, the answer alternatives for 14 items were modified. A total of 111 patients (94 percent) completed the study adequately. Temporal reliability (test-retest) was good for all domains except for embarrassment, which showed significant differences (P 0.80, between 0.84 and 0.96). The four domains of Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida de Incontinencia Anal significantly correlated with the domains of the generic questionnaire on health (P de Calidad de Vida de Incontinencia Anal correlated negatively with the need to wear pads (P de Calidad de Vida de Incontinencia Anal incorporates sufficient requirements of reliability and validity to be applied to patients with fecal incontinence.

Developing the Scale for Quality of Life in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 13-18: Adolescent Form and Parent Form.

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Bektas, Murat; Akdeniz Kudubes, Aslı; Ugur, Ozlem; Vergin, Canan; Demirag, Bengü

2016-06-01

This study aimed to develop the Scale for Quality of Life in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 13-18: Adolescent Form and Parent Form. We used the child and parent information form, Visual Quality of Life Scale, and our own scale, the Scale for Quality of Life in Pediatric Oncology Patients Aged 13-18: Adolescent Form and Parent Form. We finalized the 35-item scale to determine the items, received opinions from 14 specialists on the scale, and pilot-tested the scale in 25 children and their parents. We used Pearson correlation analysis, Cronbach α coefficient, factor analysis and receiver operating characteristics analysis to analyze the data. The total Cronbach α of the parent form was .97, the total factor load was .60-.97 and the total variance was 80.4%. The cutoff point of the parent form was 85.50. The total Cronbach α of the adolescent form was .98, the total factor load was .62-.96, and the total variance explained was 83.4%. The cutoff point of the adolescent form was 75.50. As a result of the parent form factor analysis, we determined the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient as .83, the Barlett test χ(2) as 12,615.92; the factor coefficients of all items of the parent form ranged from .63 to .98. The factor coefficients of all items of the adolescent form ranged from .34 to .99. As a result of the adolescent form factor analysis, we determined the KMO as .79, and the Barlett test χ(2) as 13,970.62. Conclusively, we found that the adolescent form and the parent form were valid and reliable in assessing the children's quality of life. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Hebrew Language Version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale

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Anaby, Dana; Jarus, Tal; Zumbo, Bruno D.

2010-01-01

The satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) is a widely accepted and widely used tool for measuring well-being. Although its potential as a cross-cultural index is recognized, an introduction and systematic validation of the Hebrew version is needed. Thus, the purpose of this study is: (1) to describe the process of developing the Hebrew version of…

Psychometric Evaluation of the Serbian Version of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale

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Jovanovic, Veljko; Zuljevic, Dragan

2013-01-01

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS). The research was carried out on a sample of 408 high school students (250 females, 158 males), with the mean age 16.6. The Serbian version of the MSLSS has demonstrated good psychometric…

Preliminary validation study of the Spanish version of the satisfaction with life scale in persons with multiple sclerosis

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Lucas-Carrasco, Ramona; Sastre-Garriga, Jaume; Galan, Ingrid; Den Oudsten, Brenda L.; Power, Michael J.

2014-01-01

Purpose: To assess Life Satisfaction, using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and to analyze its psychometric properties in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Method: Persons with MS (n = 84) recruited at the MS Centre of Catalonia (Spain) completed a battery of subjective assessments including the

Evaluation of the Life Satisfaction and Subjective Happiness Scales with Mexican American High School and College Students

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Vela, Javier C.; Lerma, Eunice; Ikonomopoulos, James

2017-01-01

In the current study, we investigated the psychometric properties of two meaningful measures of subjective well-being among Mexican American high school and college students. Participants completed the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) or Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) as measures of subjective well-being. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)…

Validation of the Factor Structure of the Positive Life Assets Scale for High School Students in Thailand

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Tripathi, Suriyadeo

2018-01-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the factor structure of the Positive Life Assets Scale (PLAS), a new measure to identify both internal and external life assets among high school students in Thailand, and to further examine the usefulness of the PLAS for a comprehensive, developmental, and strengths-based school and community…

Measuring Adolescent Life Satisfaction: Psychometric Properties of the Satisfaction With Life Scale in a Sample of Italian Adolescents and Young Adults

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Di Fabio, Annamaria; Gori, Alessio

2016-01-01

This study examined the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) in a sample of 1,515 Italian (females = 60.26%, males = 39.74%) adolescents and young adults (M[subscript age] = 17.6 years, SD = 1.21). Results confirmed the unidimensionality, good reliability, and concurrent validity of the…

Quality of life outcome measures following partial glossectomy: Assessment using the UW-QOL scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazi R

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The consequences of a diagnosis of head and neck cancer and the impact of treatment have a clear and direct influence on well-being and associated quality of life (QOL in these patients. Aims: To determine the QOL in head and neck cancer patients following a partial glossectomy operation. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional cohort study; Head and Neck Oncology Unit, tertiary referral center. Materials and Methods: 38 patients with partial glossectomy were assessed with the University of Washington head and neck quality of life (UW-QOL scale, version 4. Statistical Analysis: Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 10.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago version III. Information from the scale was correlated using the Mann Whitney test. A P value less than/equal to 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The mean (sd composite score of the QOL in our series was 73.6 (16.1. The majority (71.8% quoted their QOL as good or very good. Swallowing (n = 16, 47.1%, speech (n = 15, 44.1% and saliva (n = 15, 44.1% were most commonly cited issues over the last 7 days. On the other hand, the groups with reconstruction, neck dissection, complications and radiotherapy demonstrated a significant reduction of quality of life scores (Mann Whitney test, P < 0.05. Conclusion: The composite score and overall QOL as assessed using the UW-QOL scale (version 4 were modestly high in our series of partial glossectomy patients. Swallowing, speech, and saliva are regarded as the most important issues. Stage of the disease, neck dissection, reconstruction, complications, radiotherapy and time since operation were seen to significantly affect domain scores.

Measurement of quality of life II. From the philosophy of life to science.

Science.gov (United States)

Ventegodt, Søren; Merrick, Joav; Andersen, Niels Jørgen

2003-10-13

We believe it should be possible to make operational the philosophical ideas of the good life in order to make it the object of scientific research. The Quality of Life Research Center in Copenhagen, Denmark has therefore spent the last several years with these questions and tried to find practical and evidence-based scientific solutions. This paper describes the theoretical road taken in moving from the abstract philosophy of life to the actual questionnaire. It presents an important aspect of our work with the quality-of-life (QOL) concept though the last decade. We have developed the quality-of-life philosophy; the SEQOL, QOL5, and QOL1 questionnaires; the quality-of-life theory; and the quality-of-life research methodology. We carried out quality-of-life population surveys and developed techniques for improving quality of life with the chronically sick patient. This paper presents the struggle to create a rating scale for the generic measurement of the global quality of life, based on quality-of-life theory, derived from quality-of-life philosophy. The developed rating scale is a ratio scale combining a Likert scale, a visual analogue scale, and a numerical scale, to a reduced combination scale. This allows for the extraction of as much information from the respondents as possible without exhausting them unduly or demanding more than can be reasonably expected.

Relationship between late-life depression and life stressors: large-scale cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the Japanese general population.

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Kaji, Tatsuhiko; Mishima, Kazuo; Kitamura, Shingo; Enomoto, Minori; Nagase, Yukihiro; Li, Lan; Kaneita, Yoshitaka; Ohida, Takashi; Nishikawa, Toru; Uchiyama, Makoto

2010-08-01

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relationship between late-life depression and daily life stress in a representative sample of 10 969 Japanese subjects. Data on 10 969 adults aged > or =50 who participated in the Active Survey of Health and Welfare in 2000, were analyzed. The self-administered questionnaire included items on 21 reasons for life stressors and the magnitude of stress, as well as the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The relationship between the incidence of life stressors and mild-moderate (D(16)) and severe (D(26)) depressive symptoms was examined using logistic regression analysis. A total of 21.9% of subjects had D(16) symptoms, and 9.3% had D(26) symptoms. Further, increased age and being female were associated with more severe depressive state. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the strongest relationship between both the incidence of D(16) and D(26) symptoms and life stressors stemmed from 'having no one to talk to' (odds ratio = 3.3 and 5.0, respectively). Late-life depression was also associated with 'loss of purpose in life', 'separation/divorce', 'having nothing to do', 'health/illness/care of self', and 'debt'. There is a relationship between late-life depression and diminished social relationships, experiences involving loss of purpose in life or human relationships, and health problems in the Japanese general population.

Scaling up Sexuality Education in Senegal: Integrating Family Life Education into the National Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Chau, Katie; Traoré Seck, Aminata; Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman; Svanemyr, Joar

2016-01-01

In Senegal, school-based sexuality education has evolved over 20 years from family life education (FLE) pilot projects into cross-curricular subjects located within the national curriculum of primary and secondary schools. We conducted a literature review and semi-structured interviews to gather information regarding the scale and nature of FLE…

Adaptation and initial validation of the german version of the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (German SLSS)

OpenAIRE

Weber, Marco; Ruch, Willibald; Huebner, E Scott

2013-01-01

The present research describes the adaptation and initial validation of a brief measure of global life satisfaction, the Students’ Life Satisfactions Scale (SLSS), for German-speaking children and adolescents aged 10–17 years. Study 1 investigated the responses of 286 Swiss students (aged 12–17 years) administered paper-pencil questionnaires (e.g., Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire) during class on two occasions (interval 4 months). Study 2 investigated the responses of a heterogeneous...

Using the satisfaction with life scale in people with Parkinson's disease: a validation study in different European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas-Carrasco, Ramona; Den Oudsten, Brenda L; Eser, Erhan; Power, Michael J

2014-01-01

Overall, people with chronic illnesses have lower life satisfaction compared to nonclinical populations. The objective of this international study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). PD patients (n = 350) were recruited and interviewed at different specialized services in the United Kingdom, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, and The Netherlands. A questionnaire set including a measure of life satisfaction, quality of life (QoL), self-reported health and disability status, and sociodemographic information was used. Acceptability, reliability, and validity were examined. The internal consistency was good ( α = 0.81). The scale structure was satisfactory (comparative fit index = 0.99; root mean square error of approximation = 0.08). The SWLS was able to discriminate between healthy and unhealthy, disabled and nondisabled, and those perceiving a more severe impact of the disability on their lives. Concurrent validity using multiple linear regression models confirmed associations between SWLS and QoL and age. This study is the first to report on the use of the SWLS in PD patients in different European countries. It is a useful tool in assessing satisfaction with life in PD patients through the continuum of care.

Pilot-scale data provide enhanced estimates of the life cycle energy and emissions profile of algae biofuels produced via hydrothermal liquefaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaowei; Saydah, Benjamin; Eranki, Pragnya; Colosi, Lisa M; Greg Mitchell, B; Rhodes, James; Clarens, Andres F

2013-11-01

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used widely to estimate the environmental implications of deploying algae-to-energy systems even though no full-scale facilities have yet to be built. Here, data from a pilot-scale facility using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is used to estimate the life cycle profiles at full scale. Three scenarios (lab-, pilot-, and full-scale) were defined to understand how development in the industry could impact its life cycle burdens. HTL-derived algae fuels were found to have lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than petroleum fuels. Algae-derived gasoline had significantly lower GHG emissions than corn ethanol. Most algae-based fuels have an energy return on investment between 1 and 3, which is lower than petroleum biofuels. Sensitivity analyses reveal several areas in which improvements by algae bioenergy companies (e.g., biocrude yields, nutrient recycle) and by supporting industries (e.g., CO2 supply chains) could reduce the burdens of the industry. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary validation study of the Spanish version of the satisfaction with life scale in persons with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas-Carrasco, Ramona; Sastre-Garriga, Jaume; Galán, Ingrid; Den Oudsten, Brenda L; Power, Michael J

2014-01-01

To assess Life Satisfaction, using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and to analyze its psychometric properties in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Persons with MS (n = 84) recruited at the MS Centre of Catalonia (Spain) completed a battery of subjective assessments including the SWLS, the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument and disability module (WHOQOL-BREF, WHOQOL-DIS) and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Depression (HADS-D); sociodemographic and disability status data were also gathered. Psychometric properties of the SWLS were investigated using standard psychometric methods. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient) was 0.84. A factor analysis using a principal components method showed a one factor structure accounting for 62.6% of the variance. Statistically significant correlations were confirmed between SWLS with WHOQOL-BREF, WHOQOL-DIS and HADS-D. SWLS scores were significantly different between a priori defined groups: probable depressed versus nondepressed and participants perceiving a mild versus severe impact of disability on their lives. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report on the psychometrics properties of the SWLS in persons with MS. It might be a valuable tool to use in appraising persons with MS through the continuum of care. The Spanish version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a reliable and valid instrument in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The SWLS is able to discriminate between participants with low or high scores on depressive symptoms or disability impact on life. SWLS might be useful through the continuum of care in persons with MS, including Rehabilitation Services.

QLiS – development of a schizophrenia-specific quality-of-life scale

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Franz Michael

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of the project was to develop an instrument for the assessment of subjective quality of life specific to schizophrenic persons on the basis of patients’ views on their own life and on sound psychometric principles. Methods The project applied a six-step multiphase development process with six distinct studies. (1 The elicitation of schizophrenic persons’ views on their quality of life was based on open-ended interviews with interviewees from different settings (acute ward inpatients, long-term care patients, community care patients; n = 268. (2 A cross-sectional study with schizophrenic and healthy persons was conducted to quantify the relative importance of the various aspect of quality of life that emerged from the qualitative study (n = 143. (3 We conducted an empirical comparison of response formats with schizophrenic persons (n = 32. (4 A scale construction- and reliability-testing study was performed (n = 203 as well as (5 a test-retest reliability study (n = 49. (6 The final questionnaire (QLiS, quality of life in schizophrenia was tested in an additional study on convergent and discriminant validity (n = 135. Results The QLiS comprises 52 items (plus 2 optional items related to work in 12 subscales: social contacts, appreciation by others, relationship to family, appraisal of pharmacotherapy, appraisal of psychopathological symptoms, cognitive functioning, abilities to manage daily living, appraisal of accommodation/housing, financial situation, leading a ’normal‘ life, confidence, general life-satisfaction. An item response format with four response categories was preferred by the schizophrenic persons. The mean values of the subscales clustered around the theoretical mean of the subscales and only minimal ceiling effects were found. The reliability (test-retest-reliability and internal consistency was with one exception > .70 for all subscales. Conclusion Taking the low

The Development of a Sport-Based Life Skills Scale for Youth to Young Adults, 11-23 Years of Age

Science.gov (United States)

Cauthen, Hillary Ayn

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a sport-based life skills scale that assesses 20 life skills: goal setting, time management, communication, coping, problem solving, leadership, critical thinking, teamwork, self-discipline, decision making, planning, organizing, resiliency, motivation, emotional control, patience, assertiveness, empathy,…

The Short Health Scale: a valid and reliable measure of health related quality of life in English speaking inflammatory bowel disease patients.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McDermott, Edel

2013-09-01

Health related quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease is influenced both by disease activity as well as by the psychosocial characteristics of the individual patient. The Short Health Scale (SHS) is a four-part visual analogue scale questionnaire using open-ended questions that are designed to assess the impact of inflammatory bowel disease on a health related quality of life. The four dimensions include bowel symptoms, activities of daily life, worry and general wellbeing. It has previously been validated in Swedish and Norwegian speaking patients.

The Authoritarian Personality in Emerging Adulthood: Longitudinal Analysis Using Standardized Scales, Observer Ratings, and Content Coding of the Life Story.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Bill E; Pratt, Michael W; Olsen, Janelle R; Alisat, Susan

2016-04-01

Three different methods (a standardized scale, an observer-based Q-sort, and content coding of narratives) were used to study the continuity of authoritarianism longitudinally in emerging and young adults. Authoritarianism was assessed in a Canadian sample (N = 92) of men and women at ages 19 and 32 with Altemeyer's (1996) Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) Scale. In addition, components of the authoritarian personality were assessed at age 26 through Q-sort observer methods (Block, 2008) and at age 32 through content coding of life stories. Age 19 authoritarianism predicted the Q-sort and life story measures of authoritarianism. Two hierarchical regression analyses showed that the Q-sort and life story measures of authoritarianism also predicted the RWA scale at age 32 beyond educational level and parental status, and even after the inclusion of age 19 RWA. Differences and similarities in the pattern of correlates for the Q-sort and life story measures are discussed, including the overall lack of results for authoritarian aggression. Content in narratives may be the result of emerging adult authoritarianism and may serve to maintain levels of authoritarianism in young adulthood. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Scale size and life time of energy conversion regions observed by Cluster in the plasma sheet

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M. Hamrin

2009-11-01

Full Text Available In this article, and in a companion paper by Hamrin et al. (2009 [Occurrence and location of concentrated load and generator regions observed by Cluster in the plasma sheet], we investigate localized energy conversion regions (ECRs in Earth's plasma sheet. From more than 80 Cluster plasma sheet crossings (660 h data at the altitude of about 15–20 RE in the summer and fall of 2001, we have identified 116 Concentrated Load Regions (CLRs and 35 Concentrated Generator Regions (CGRs. By examining variations in the power density, E·J, where E is the electric field and J is the current density obtained by Cluster, we have estimated typical values of the scale size and life time of the CLRs and the CGRs. We find that a majority of the observed ECRs are rather stationary in space, but varying in time. Assuming that the ECRs are cylindrically shaped and equal in size, we conclude that the typical scale size of the ECRs is 2 RE≲ΔSECR≲5 RE. The ECRs hence occupy a significant portion of the mid altitude plasma sheet. Moreover, the CLRs appear to be somewhat larger than the CGRs. The life time of the ECRs are of the order of 1–10 min, consistent with the large scale magnetotail MHD simulations of Birn and Hesse (2005. The life time of the CGRs is somewhat shorter than for the CLRs. On time scales of 1–10 min, we believe that ECRs rise and vanish in significant regions of the plasma sheet, possibly oscillating between load and generator character. It is probable that at least some of the observed ECRs oscillate energy back and forth in the plasma sheet instead of channeling it to the ionosphere.

A Note on the Score Reliability for the Satisfaction with Life Scale: An RG Study

Science.gov (United States)

Vassar, Matt

2008-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to meta-analytically investigate the score reliability for the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Four-hundred and sixteen articles using the measure were located through electronic database searches and then separated to identify studies which had calculated reliability estimates from their own data. Sixty-two…

Feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory ™ generic core scales, cancer module, and multidimensional fatigue scale in long-term adult survivors of pediatric cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Robert, Rhonda S; Paxton, Raheem J; Palla, Shana L; Yang, Grace; Askins, Martha A; Joy, Shaini E; Ater, Joann L

2012-10-01

Most health-related quality of life assessments are designed for either children or adults and have not been evaluated for adolescent and young adult survivors of pediatric cancer. The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL ™ Generic Core Scales, Cancer Module, and Multidimensional Fatigue Scale in adult survivors of pediatric cancer. Adult survivors (n = 64; Mean age 35 year old; >2 years after treatment) completed the PedsQL™ Generic Core Scales, Cancer Module, and Multidimensional Fatigue Scale. Feasibility was examined with floor and ceiling effects; and internal consistency was determined by Cronbach's coefficient alpha calculations. Inter-factor correlations were also assessed. Significant ceiling effects were observed for the scales of social function, nausea, procedural anxiety, treatment anxiety, and communication. Internal consistency for all subscales was within the recommended ranges (α ≥ 0.70). Moderate to strong correlations between most Cancer Module and Generic Core Scales (r = 0.25 to r = 0.76) and between the Multidimensional Fatigue Scale and Generic Core Scales (r = 0.37 to r = 0.73). The PedsQL™ Generic Core Scales, Cancer Module, and Multidimensional Fatigue Scale appear to be feasible for an older population of pediatric cancer survivors; however, some of the Cancer Module Scales (nausea, procedural/treatment anxiety, and communication) were deemed not relevant for long-term survivors. More information is needed to determine whether the issues addressed by these modules are meaningful to long-term adult survivors of pediatric cancers. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Psychometric Characteristics of the Korean Version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale Adapted for Children

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Young-Jin

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, factorial structure validity, and convergent validity of a Korean version of the Satisfaction With Life Scale adapted for children (K-SWLS-C). Participants consisted of 653 elementary school students (48% were male). The internal consistency of the…

[Critical analysis of scales of quality of life in cardiology; applications to cardiac insufficiency].

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen-Solal, A; Caviezel, B; Laperche, T; Gourgon, R

1994-12-01

Scales of quality of life have only recently been imposed in cardiology. Essentially an Anglosaxon invention, they have been used for evaluating most treatment of cardiac failure. The main qualities of a good quality of life questionnaire are its sensitivity, its reproducibility and its validity. The contents of the questionnaire, particularly the relationship between items concerning symptoms and those concerning the psychological aspects of the disease, have a great influence on the quality of results. The "Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire" of the University of Minnesota is the most validated questionnaire at present. As with most other methods of therapeutic assessment in cardiology, the most recently obtained results from large multicenter trials, seem to show a much smaller benefit of drugs reputed to be effective in this condition, with respect to the quality of life of patients. This justifies: the continuation of validation of these questionnaires, a reflection on the efficacy of classical management of these patients.

Complex dynamics of our economic life on different scales: insights from search engine query data.

Science.gov (United States)

Preis, Tobias; Reith, Daniel; Stanley, H Eugene

2010-12-28

Search engine query data deliver insight into the behaviour of individuals who are the smallest possible scale of our economic life. Individuals are submitting several hundred million search engine queries around the world each day. We study weekly search volume data for various search terms from 2004 to 2010 that are offered by the search engine Google for scientific use, providing information about our economic life on an aggregated collective level. We ask the question whether there is a link between search volume data and financial market fluctuations on a weekly time scale. Both collective 'swarm intelligence' of Internet users and the group of financial market participants can be regarded as a complex system of many interacting subunits that react quickly to external changes. We find clear evidence that weekly transaction volumes of S&P 500 companies are correlated with weekly search volume of corresponding company names. Furthermore, we apply a recently introduced method for quantifying complex correlations in time series with which we find a clear tendency that search volume time series and transaction volume time series show recurring patterns.

Further validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: evidence for the cross-method convergence of well-being measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Pavot, W; Diener, E; Colvin, C R; Sandvik, E

1991-08-01

The structure of subjective well-being has been conceptualized as consisting of two major components: the emotional or affective component and the judgmental or cognitive component (Diener, 1984; Veenhoven, 1984). The judgmental component has also been conceptualized as life satisfaction (Andrews & Withey, 1976). Although the affective component of subjective well-being has received considerable attention from researchers, the judgmental component has been relatively neglected. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) was developed as a measure of the judgmental component of subjective well-being (SWB). Two studied designed to validate further the SWLS are reported. Peer reports, a memory measure, and clinical ratings are used as external criteria for validation. Evidence for the reliability and predictive validity of the SWLS is presented, and its performance is compared to other related scales. The SWLS is shown to be a valid and reliable measure of life satisfaction, suited for use with a wide range of age groups and applications, which makes possible the savings of interview time and resources compared to many measures of life satisfaction. In addition, the high convergence of self- and peer-reported measures of subjective well-being and life satisfaction provide strong evidence that subjective well-being is a relatively global and stable phenomenon, not simply a momentary judgment based on fleeting influences.

Scale size and life time of energy conversion regions observed by Cluster in the plasma sheet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Hamrin

2009-11-01

Full Text Available In this article, and in a companion paper by Hamrin et al. (2009 [Occurrence and location of concentrated load and generator regions observed by Cluster in the plasma sheet], we investigate localized energy conversion regions (ECRs in Earth's plasma sheet. From more than 80 Cluster plasma sheet crossings (660 h data at the altitude of about 15–20 R_E in the summer and fall of 2001, we have identified 116 Concentrated Load Regions (CLRs and 35 Concentrated Generator Regions (CGRs. By examining variations in the power density, E·J, where E is the electric field and J is the current density obtained by Cluster, we have estimated typical values of the scale size and life time of the CLRs and the CGRs. We find that a majority of the observed ECRs are rather stationary in space, but varying in time. Assuming that the ECRs are cylindrically shaped and equal in size, we conclude that the typical scale size of the ECRs is 2 R_E≲ΔS_ECR≲5 R_E. The ECRs hence occupy a significant portion of the mid altitude plasma sheet. Moreover, the CLRs appear to be somewhat larger than the CGRs. The life time of the ECRs are of the order of 1–10 min, consistent with the large scale magnetotail MHD simulations of Birn and Hesse (2005. The life time of the CGRs is somewhat shorter than for the CLRs. On time scales of 1–10 min, we believe that ECRs rise and vanish in significant regions of the plasma sheet, possibly oscillating between load and generator character. It is probable that at least some of the observed ECRs oscillate energy back and forth in the plasma sheet instead of channeling it to the ionosphere.

Micro scale spatial relationships in urban studies : The relationship between private and public space and its impact on street life

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Nes, A.; Lopez, M.J.J.

2007-01-01

Research on urban environment by means of space syntax theory and methods tends to focus on macro scale spatial conditions. However, micro scale conditions should not be neglected. In research on street life and dispersal of crime in urban areas, it became inevitable to pay attention to the

Initial validation of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC) scale: study of Portuguese end-of-life cancer patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Filomena Moreira Pinto; Santos, Célia Samarina Vilaça de Brito

2014-10-01

The Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC) is a 29-item instrument designed to evaluate the responses developed by cancer patients during their mental adjustment to diagnosis and treatment. This study aims to validate the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC) translated and adapted to the Portuguese language and culture, in end-of-life cancer patients receiving palliative care. The instrument was administered to 346 Portuguese end-of-life cancer patients, receiving care through outpatient visits or admitted into palliative care units, without cognitive symptoms and with symptoms under control. A cross-sectional validation study using orthogonal rotation through the varimax method followed by convergent and discriminant validity. The analysis of the main components confirms the existence of five factors, demonstrating the validity of the construct, with good internal consistency in the subscales and Cronbach's alpha values between 0.78 and 0.93. Good test-retest reliability was also found, and r values for subscales ranged from 0.62 to 0.99. The instrument proved to be a reliable, valid and sensitive measure in the study of mental adjustment of Portuguese end-of-life patients with cancer receiving palliative care. Nurses can use the Mini-MAC Scale in research and clinical practice in order to evaluate the mental adjustment of Portuguese end-of-life cancer patients receiving palliative care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do Ethical Judgments Depend on the Type of Response Scale? Comparing Acceptability versus Unacceptability Judgments in the Case of Life-Ending Procedures

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Etienne Mullet

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Using Functional Measurement (Anderson, 2008, Frileux, Lelièvre, Muñoz Sastre, Mullet, and Sorum (2003 examined the joint impact of several key factors on lay people's judgments of the acceptability of physicians' interventions to end patients' lives. The level of acceptability was high, and the information integration rule that best described the participants' judgments was Acceptability = Patient's Request + Patient's Age + Residual Suffering + Incurability. Critics suggested, however, that acceptability was high because the ethical problem was framed in terms of acceptability (Murphy, 2007. Presenting participants with acceptability scales may have caused the life-ending procedure to be represented in participants' mind as basically "acceptable". By contrast, presenting participants with unacceptability scales might cause the procedure to be represented as basically "unacceptable". In the present study, therefore, we directly compared lay people's judgments of the acceptability of life-ending procedures under two opposite conditions - an acceptability condition, and an unacceptability condition. The life-ending procedure did not appear as more acceptable to participants responding in terms of acceptability than to those responding in terms of unacceptability. In addition, the impacts of the factors describing the end-of-life situations were not affected by the type of judgment scale that was used. Functional Measurement seems to be resistant to goal-framing effects; the findings that have been observed using acceptability scales can be considered as robust.

[Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life Scale for European Portuguese].

Science.gov (United States)

Roque Dos Reis, Luis; Donato, Mariana; Sousa, Rita; Escada, Pedro

2017-02-27

The scale Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life uses a simple and easily administered questionnaire to evaluate the adaptation of individuals to their hearing aids. The objective of this study is to validate the scale for European Portuguese speakers, by means of translation and cultural adaptation of the questionnaire. The study includes an evaluation of reproducibility and a description of the results of the administration of the questionnaire to patients fitted with hearing aids. We invited 147 individuals fitted with hearing aids (uni- or bilateral) to participate in the study. Participants had used a hearing aid for at least six weeks and were patients of the Department of Otolaryngology at the Egas Moniz Hospital (Lisbon). The consent as well the guidelines for translation from and into the English language were obtained from the author of the scale, and the translation from and into, and cultural adaptation were carried out, along with an evaluation of reproducibility and internal consistency. The participants were 54% male and 46% female, aged between 16 and 93 (66.09 ± 17.41 years). The results of the study showed an overall level of satisfaction of 5.4 among hearing aids users. The sub-scale satisfaction levels were: positive effects 5.88, service and cost 5.25, negative effects 4.24, and self-image 5.57. The Cronbach α score was 0.75 which indicates good internal consistency. Furthermore, the questionnaire's overall and sub-scale average scores did not differ significantly from the results obtained under the American scale. The inter-examiner reproducibility was also good. This study provides reliable results of the scale for the Portuguese of Portugal and adequate internal consistency, with significant age variability in the sample. This adaptation of the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life questionnaire for European Portuguese speakers should be considered a good tool for evaluation of the level of satisfaction of hearing aid users

Quality of School Life Scale: Means, Variances, Reliabilities, and Factor Analysis for Grades 10, 11, and 12.

Science.gov (United States)

Nimmer, Donald N.

1979-01-01

The Quality of School Life Scale (QLS) is an instrument designed to measure students' perceptions of their school experiences. Such an instrument may aid educators in evaluating students' perceptions in the three areas identified by the QSL: satisfaction, commitment to classwork, and reactions to teachers. (Author)

Life cycle assessment of a small-scale anaerobic digestion plant from cattle waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mezzullo, William G.; McManus, Marcelle C.; Hammond, Geoff P.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Emissions from plant manufacture contributed little towards the lifecycle impacts. ► The use phase of the AD plant could have significant impacts. ► Production of biogas and fertiliser created significant impacts. ► The consequential displacement of kerosene showed a net-benefit. ► The study concluded that it is essential to cover the digestate storage tank. -- Abstract: This paper outlines the results of a comprehensive life cycle study of the production of energy, in the form of biogas, using a small scale farm based cattle waste fed anaerobic digestion (AD) plant. The life cycle assessment (LCA) shows that in terms of environmental and energy impact the plant manufacture contributes very little to the whole life cycle impacts. The results show that compared with alternative energy supply the production and use of biogas is beneficial in terms of greenhouse gases and fossil fuel use. This is mainly due to the replacement of the alternative, kerosene, and from fertiliser production from the AD process. However, these benefits come at a cost to ecosystem health and the production of respiratory inorganics. These were found to be a result of ammonia emissions during the production phase of the biogas. These damages can be significantly reduced if further emission control measures are undertaken.

Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life Scale for European Portuguese

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Roque dos Reis

2017-02-01

Conclusion: This adaptation of the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life questionnaire for European Portuguese speakers should be considered a good tool for evaluation of the level of satisfaction of hearing aid users, and until now, is the only available scale for speakers of European Portuguese.

Testing for Measurement Invariance in the Satisfaction with Life Scale: A Comparison of Russians and North Americans

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Kari L.; Ozer, Daniel J.; Lyubomirsky, Sonja; Boehm, Julia K.

2006-01-01

This study examined the comparability of Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) [Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985, "Social Indicators Research," 34: 7-32] scores across U.S. and Russian student and community groups. Criteria for weak measurement invariance were met when comparing U.S. and Russian groups (combining student and…

Measuring emotional and social wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations: an analysis of a Negative Life Events Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gunthorpe Wendy

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians experience widespread socioeconomic disadvantage and health inequality. In an attempt to make Indigenous health research more culturally-appropriate, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have called for more attention to the concept of emotional and social wellbeing (ESWB. Although it has been widely recognised that ESWB is of crucial importance to the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, there is little consensus on how to measure in Indigenous populations, hampering efforts to better understand and improve the psychosocial determinants of health. This paper explores the policy and political context to this situation, and suggests ways to move forward. The second part of the paper explores how scales can be evaluated in a health research setting, including assessments of endorsement, discrimination, internal and external reliability. We then evaluate the use of a measure of stressful life events, the Negative Life Events Scale (NLES, in two samples of Aboriginal people living in remote communities in the Northern Territory of Australia. We argue that the Negative Life Events Scale is a promising assessment of psychosocial wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. Evaluation of the scale and its performance in other samples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations is imperative if we hope to develop better, rather than more, scales for measuring ESWB among Indigenous Australians. Only then will it be possible to establish standardized methods of measuring ESWB and develop a body of comparable literature that can guide both a better understanding of ESWB, and evaluation of interventions designed to improve the psychosocial health of Indigenous populations and decrease health inequalities.

Effect of Exercise Counseling on Functional Scales Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer

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Fatemeh Shobeyri

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer and the most lethal malignancy among women in the world. Diagnosis, treatment, and treatment complications incur physical, mental and social complications, and consequently reduce the quality of life in these patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exercise counseling on functional scales in women with breast cancer. Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 women with breast cancer selected in cancer treatment centers in Hamadan city. Participants were randomly allocated to exercise counseling group (n=30 and control group (n=30. The intervention included two weeks of exercise counseling in the gym and eight weeks of training at home. The data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, QLQ-C30 and QLQ BR-23. Data were analyzed in SPSS.20, using &chi2 Fisher’s exact test, t-test, ANCOVA at a confidence level of p0.05. Conclusion: The functional scales of exercise counseling had a positive effect on the quality of life of women with breast cancer, and led to a significant improvement in patients. This method can be used as a part of the routine therapeutic measures for these patients.

PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTY OF FATIGUE SEVERITY SCALE AND CORRELATION WITH DEPRESSION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN CIRRHOTICS

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Danusa ROSSI

2017-10-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a common complaint in cirrhotic patients and may be considered a debilitating symptom with negative impact on quality of life. Research on its etiology and treatment has been hampered by the lack of relevant and reproducible measures of fatigue. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS in cirrhotic patients and to correlate with depressive symptomatology and quality of life. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of 106 cirrhotic patients, aged between 18 and 70 years, both genders, literate, pre and post liver transplantation in outpatient follow-up. Internal consistency, reproducibility, discriminant validity, criterion validity, construct validity, responsiveness criterion, depressive symptomatology and quality of life were evaluated through questionnaires between January and October 2015. RESULTS: The mean age was 54.75±9.9 years, 65.1% male and 32.1% of the sample had cirrhosis due to hepatitis C virus. The mean FSS score was 4.74±1.64. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.93, and the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient was 0.905 (95% CI: 0.813-0.952. For discriminant validity, FSS differentiated scores from different groups (P=0.009 and presented a correlation with the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (r=0.606, P=0.002. FSS correlated significantly and positively with depressive symptomatology and correlated negatively with the SF-36 domains for construct validity. For responsiveness, no significant changes were observed in the fatigue scores in the pre and post-liver transplantation periods (P=0.327. CONCLUSION: FSS showed good psychometric performance in the evaluation of fatigue in patients with cirrhosis. Fatigue presented a strong correlation with depressive symptomatology and quality of life.

LifeWatch - a Large-scale eScience Infrastructure to Assist in Understanding and Managing our Planet's Biodiversity

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Hernández Ernst, Vera; Poigné, Axel; Los, Walter

2010-05-01

Understanding and managing the complexity of the biodiversity system in relation to global changes concerning land use and climate change with their social and economic implications is crucial to mitigate species loss and biodiversity changes in general. The sustainable development and exploitation of existing biodiversity resources require flexible and powerful infrastructures offering, on the one hand, the access to large-scale databases of observations and measures, to advanced analytical and modelling software, and to high performance computing environments and, on the other hand, the interlinkage of European scientific communities among each others and with national policies. The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) selected the "LifeWatch e-science and technology infrastructure for biodiversity research" as a promising development to construct facilities to contribute to meet those challenges. LifeWatch collaborates with other selected initiatives (e.g. ICOS, ANAEE, NOHA, and LTER-Europa) to achieve the integration of the infrastructures at landscape and regional scales. This should result in a cooperating cluster of such infrastructures supporting an integrated approach for data capture and transmission, data management and harmonisation. Besides, facilities for exploration, forecasting, and presentation using heterogeneous and distributed data and tools should allow the interdisciplinary scientific research at any spatial and temporal scale. LifeWatch is an example of a new generation of interoperable research infrastructures based on standards and a service-oriented architecture that allow for linkage with external resources and associated infrastructures. External data sources will be established data aggregators as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) for species occurrences and other EU Networks of Excellence like the Long-Term Ecological Research Network (LTER), GMES, and GEOSS for terrestrial monitoring, the

Longitudinal multigroup invariance analysis of the satisfaction with food-related life scale in university students

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Schnettler, Berta; Miranda, Horacio; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo

2017-01-01

This study examined longitudinal measurement invariance in the Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL) scale using follow-up data from university students. We examined this measure of the SWFL in different groups of students, separated by various characteristics. Through non......-probabilistic longitudinal sampling, 114 university students (65.8% female, mean age: 22.5) completed the SWFL questionnaire three times, over intervals of approximately one year. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine longitudinal measurement invariance. Two types of analysis were conducted: first, a longitudinal...... students of both sexes, and among those older and younger than 22 years. Generally, these findings suggest that the SWFL scale has satisfactory psychometric properties for longitudinal measurement invariance in university students with similar characteristics as the students that participated...

Psychometric Properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale among Turkish University Students, Correctional Officers, and Elderly Adults

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Durak, Mithat; Senol-Durak, Emre; Gencoz, Tulin

2010-01-01

This study aims to extensively examine the psychometric properties of adapted version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in different Turkish samples. In order to test the psychometric properties of the SWLS three separate and independent samples are utilized in this study, namely university students (n = 547), correctional officers (n =…

Psychometrics and life history strategy: the structure and validity of the High K Strategy Scale.

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Copping, Lee T; Campbell, Anne; Muncer, Steven

2014-03-22

In this paper, we critically review the conceptualization and implementation of psychological measures of life history strategy associated with Differential K theory. The High K Strategy Scale (HKSS: Giosan, 2006) was distributed to a large British sample (n = 809) with the aim of assessing its factor structure and construct validity in relation to theoretically relevant life history variables: age of puberty, age of first sexual encounter, and number of sexual partners. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the HKSS in its current form did not show an adequate statistical fit to the data. Modifications to improve fit indicated four correlated factors (personal capital, environmental stability, environmental security, and social capital). Later puberty in women was positively associated with measures of the environment and personal capital. Among men, contrary to Differential K predictions but in line with female mate preferences, earlier sexual debut and more sexual partners were positively associated with more favorable environments and higher personal and social capital. We raise concerns about the use of psychometric indicators of lifestyle and personality as proxies for life history strategy when they have not been validated against objective measures derived from contemporary life history theory and when their status as causes, mediators, or correlates has not been investigated.

Menopausal manifestations and quality of life in afro-colombians. Valuation whit Cervantes scale

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Monterrosa-Castro, Álvaro

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: the menopausal manifestations should be studied by ethnic considerations. Objective: to identify the most prevalent menopausal manifestations and to evaluate quality of life according to menstrual states. Methods: this study is a part of CAVIMEC [Quality of Life in Menopause and Colombian Ethnic Groups], performed with Cervantes Scale, which evaluates CV in menopause, in 646 Afro-Colombians, aged 40-59 years, living in populations of the Caribbean and Pacific. Results: mean age 48.7±5.7 years, 69.1% with obesity/overweight, 22.7% with university/technological studies and 40.5% postmenopausal. The most prevalent manifestations: hot flashes 76.4%; suffocation 73.1%; Muscle/joint pain 71.3%; they couldn’t sleep 61.8%; easy sweating episode 55.8%; dry skin 50.4% and headache that increased during the day 44.2%. The third part could not be good by the nerves, things like boring, lost the ability to relax or noticed that everyone was spinning 24.4% had less interest in sex and 14.4% had not significant sexuality. Postmenopausal women had worse scores in most of the manifestations and in the domains of health, psychic, sexuality, relationship, vasomotor, health, aging and global. Conclusion: hot flashes, suffocations and muscle/joint pain were the manifestations most prevalent, in seven out of ten. Postmenopausal women had worse quality of life.

A cross-national analysis of measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale.

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Whisman, Mark A; Judd, Charles M

2016-02-01

Measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was examined in probability samples of adults 50-79 years of age living in the United States, England, and Japan. Confirmatory factor analysis modeling was used to test for multigroup measurement invariance of a single-factor structure of the SWLS. Results support a single-factor structure of the SWLS across the 3 countries, with tests of measurement invariance of the SWLS supporting its configural invariance and metric invariance. These results suggest that the SWLS may be used as a single-factor measure of life satisfaction in the United States, England, and Japan, and that it is appropriate to compare correlates of the SWLS in middle-aged and older adults across these 3 countries. However, results provided evidence for only partial scalar invariance, with the intercept for SWLS Item 4 varying across countries. Cross-national comparisons of means revealed a lower mean at the latent variable level for the Japanese sample than for the other 2 samples. In addition, over and above the latent mean difference, the Japanese sample also manifested a significantly lower intercept on Item 4. Implications of the findings for research on cross-national comparisons of life satisfaction in European American and East Asian countries are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Mokken scaling of the Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale (MIDAS).

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Thompson, David R; Watson, Roger

2011-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the hierarchical and cumulative nature of the 35 items of the Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale (MIDAS), a disease-specific health-related quality of life measure. Data from 668 participants who completed the MIDAS were analysed using the Mokken Scaling Procedure, which is a computer program that searches polychotomous data for hierarchical and cumulative scales on the basis of a range of diagnostic criteria. Fourteen MIDAS items were retained in a Mokken scale and these items included physical activity, insecurity, emotional reaction and dependency items but excluded items related to diet, medication or side-effects. Item difficulty, in item response theory terms, ran from physical activity items (low difficulty) to insecurity, suggesting that the most severe quality of life effect of myocardial infarction is loneliness and isolation. Items from the MIDAS form a strong and reliable Mokken scale, which provides new insight into the relationship between items in the MIDAS and the measurement of quality of life after myocardial infarction. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

[Design and validation of the scales for the assessment of the psychological impact of past life events: the role of ruminative thought and personal growth].

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Fernández-Fernández, Virginia; Márquez-González, María; Losada-Baltar, Andrés; García, Pablo E; Romero-Moreno, Rosa

2013-01-01

Older people's emotional distress is often related to rumination processes focused on past vital events occurred during their lives. The specific coping strategies displayed to face those events may contribute to explain older adults' current well-being: they can perceive that they have obtained personal growth after those events and/or they can show a tendency to have intrusive thoughts about those events. This paper describes the development and analysis of the psychometric properties of the Scales for the Assessment of the Psychological Impact of Past Life Events (SAPIPLE): the past life events-occurrence scale (LE-O), ruminative thought scale (LE-R) and personal growth scale (LE-PG). Participants were 393 community dwelling elderly (mean age=71.5 years old; SD=6.9). In addition to the SAPIPLE scales, depressive symptomatology, anxiety, psychological well-being, life satisfaction, physical function and vitality have been assessed. The inter-rater agreement's analysis suggests the presence of two factors in the LE-O: positive and negative vital events. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) supported this two-dimensional structure for both the LE-R and the LE-PG. Good internal consistency indexes have been obtained for each scale and subscale, as well as good criterion and concurrent validity indexes. Both ruminative thoughts about past life events and personal growth following those events are related to older adults' current well-being. The SAPIPLE presents good psychometric properties that justify its use for elderly people. Copyright © 2012 SEGG. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of a Family Quality of Life Scale for Families of Kindergarten Children without Disabilities

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Zuna, Nina I.; Selig, James P.; Summers, Jean Ann; Turnbull, Ann P.

2009-01-01

Recently, within the field of special education, attention has been accorded to the conceptualization and measurement of family outcomes. The Family Quality of Life (FQOL) Scale is an instrument that can be used to measure family outcomes for families who have children with disabilities, and it has been demonstrated to have psychometric validity.…

Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in caregivers of clinically-referred youth: psychometric properties and mediation analysis.

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Athay, M Michele

2012-03-01

This paper presents the psychometric evaluation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al. in J Personal Assess 49:71-75, 1985) used with a large sample (N = 610) of caregivers for youth receiving mental health services. Methods from classical test theory, factor analysis, and item response theory were utilized. Additionally, this paper investigated whether caregiver strain mediates the effect of youth symptom severity on caregiver life satisfaction (N = 356). Bootstrapped confidence intervals were used to determine the significance of the mediated effects. Results indicated that the SWLS is a psychometrically sound instrument to be used with caregivers of clinically-referred youth. Mediation analyses found that the effect of youth symptom severity on caregiver life satisfaction was mediated by caregiver strain but that the mediation effect differed based on the type of youth symptoms: caregiver strain was a partial mediator when externalizing symptoms were measured and a full mediator when internalizing symptoms were measured. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

The validity of the Satisfaction with Life Scale in adolescents and a comparison with single-item life satisfaction measures: a preliminary study.

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Jovanović, Veljko

2016-12-01

The validity of the life satisfaction measures commonly used among adults has been rarely examined in adolescent samples. The present research had two main goals: (1) to evaluate the structural validity of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) among adolescents and to test measurement invariance across gender; (2) to compare the criterion and convergent validity of the SWLS and single-item life satisfaction measures among adolescents. Three samples of Serbian adolescents were recruited for the present research. Study 1 (N = 481, M age  = 17.01 years) examined the structure of the SWLS via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and evaluated measurement invariance of the SWLS across gender by a multi-group CFA. Study 2 (N = 283, M age  = 17.34 years) and Study 3 (N = 220, M age  = 16.73 years) compared the convergent validity of the SWLS and single-item life satisfaction measures. The results of Study 1 supported the original one-factor model of the SWLS among adolescents and provided evidence for strong measurement invariance of the SWLS across gender. The findings of Study 2 and Study 3 showed that the SWLS and single-item measures were equally valid and strongly associated (r = .734 in Study 2 and r = .668 in Study 3). No substantial differences in correlations with school success and well-being indicators were found between the SWLS and single-item measures. Our findings support the use of the SWLS among adolescents and indicate that single-item life satisfaction measures perform as well as the SWLS in adolescent samples.

Clinical Utility and Psychometric Properties of the Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life Scale (TBI-QOL) in US Military Service Members.

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Lange, Rael T; Brickell, Tracey A; Bailie, Jason M; Tulsky, David S; French, Louis M

2016-01-01

To examine the clinical utility and psychometric properties of the Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life (TBI-QOL) scale in a US military population. One hundred fifty-two US military service members (age: M = 34.3, SD = 9.4; 89.5% men) prospectively enrolled from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and other nationwide community outreach initiatives. Participants included 99 service members who had sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 53 injured or noninjured controls without TBI (n = 29 and n = 24, respectively). Participants completed the TBI-QOL scale and 5 other behavioral measures, on average, 33.8 months postinjury (SD = 37.9). Fourteen TBI-QOL subscales; Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian version; Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; Combat Exposure Scale. The internal consistency reliability of the TBI-QOL scales ranged from α = .91 to α = .98. The convergent and discriminant validity of the 14 TBI-QOL subscales was high. The mild TBI group had significantly worse scores on 10 of the 14 TBI-QOL subscales than the control group (range, P quality of life in a mild TBI military sample. Additional research is recommended to further evaluate the clinical utility of the TBI-QOL scale in both military and civilian settings.

Health-related quality of life in young adults in education, employment, or training: development of the Japanese version of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Generic Core Scales Young Adult Version.

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Kaneko, Mei; Sato, Iori; Soejima, Takafumi; Kamibeppu, Kiyoko

2014-09-01

The purpose of the study is to develop a Japanese version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Generic Core Scales Young Adult Version (PedsQL-YA-J) and determine the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the scales. Translation equivalence and content validity were verified using back-translation and cognitive debriefing tests. A total of 428 young adults recruited from one university, two vocational schools, or five companies completed questionnaires. We determined questionnaire feasibility, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability; checked concurrent validity against the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D); determined convergent and discriminant validity with the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36); described known-groups validity with regard to subjective symptoms, illness or injury requiring regular medical visits, and depression; and verified factorial validity. All scales were internally consistent (Cronbach's coefficient alpha = 0.77-0.86); test-retest reliability was acceptable (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.57-0.69); and all scales were concurrently valid with depression (Pearson's correlation coefficient = 0.43-0.57). The scales convergent and discriminant validity with the SF-36 and CES-D were acceptable. Evaluation of known-groups validity confirmed that the Physical Functioning scale was sensitive for subjective symptoms, the Emotional Functioning scale for depression, and the Work/School Functioning scale for illness or injury requiring regular medical visits. Exploratory factor analysis found a six-factor structure consistent with the assumed structure (cumulative proportion = 57.0%). The PedsQL-YA-J is suitable for assessing health-related quality of life in young adults in education, employment, or training, and for clinical trials and epidemiological research.

Regulation of the demographic structure in isomorphic biphasic life cycles at the spatial fine scale.

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Vasco Manuel Nobre de Carvalho da Silva Vieira

Full Text Available Isomorphic biphasic algal life cycles often occur in the environment at ploidy abundance ratios (Haploid:Diploid different from 1. Its spatial variability occurs within populations related to intertidal height and hydrodynamic stress, possibly reflecting the niche partitioning driven by their diverging adaptation to the environment argued necessary for their prevalence (evolutionary stability. Demographic models based in matrix algebra were developed to investigate which vital rates may efficiently generate an H:D variability at a fine spatial resolution. It was also taken into account time variation and type of life strategy. Ploidy dissimilarities in fecundity rates set an H:D spatial structure miss-fitting the ploidy fitness ratio. The same happened with ploidy dissimilarities in ramet growth whenever reproductive output dominated the population demography. Only through ploidy dissimilarities in looping rates (stasis, breakage and clonal growth did the life cycle respond to a spatially heterogeneous environment efficiently creating a niche partition. Marginal locations were more sensitive than central locations. Related results have been obtained experimentally and numerically for widely different life cycles from the plant and animal kingdoms. Spore dispersal smoothed the effects of ploidy dissimilarities in fertility and enhanced the effects of ploidy dissimilarities looping rates. Ploidy dissimilarities in spore dispersal could also create the necessary niche partition, both over the space and time dimensions, even in spatial homogeneous environments and without the need for conditional differentiation of the ramets. Fine scale spatial variability may be the key for the prevalence of isomorphic biphasic life cycles, which has been neglected so far.

Longitudinal multigroup invariance analysis of the satisfaction with food-related life scale in university students.

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Schnettler, Berta; Miranda, Horacio; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo; Salinas-Oñate, Natalia; Grunert, Klaus G; Lobos, Germán; Sepúlveda, José; Orellana, Ligia; Hueche, Clementina; Bonilla, Héctor

2017-06-01

This study examined longitudinal measurement invariance in the Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL) scale using follow-up data from university students. We examined this measure of the SWFL in different groups of students, separated by various characteristics. Through non-probabilistic longitudinal sampling, 114 university students (65.8% female, mean age: 22.5) completed the SWFL questionnaire three times, over intervals of approximately one year. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine longitudinal measurement invariance. Two types of analysis were conducted: first, a longitudinal invariance by time, and second, a multigroup longitudinal invariance by sex, age, socio-economic status and place of residence during the study period. Results showed that the 3-item version of the SWFL exhibited strong longitudinal invariance (equal factor loadings and equal indicator intercepts). Longitudinal multigroup invariance analysis also showed that the 3-item version of the SWFL displays strong invariance by socio-economic status and place of residence during the study period over time. Nevertheless, it was only possible to demonstrate equivalence of the longitudinal factor structure among students of both sexes, and among those older and younger than 22 years. Generally, these findings suggest that the SWFL scale has satisfactory psychometric properties for longitudinal measurement invariance in university students with similar characteristics as the students that participated in this research. It is also possible to suggest that satisfaction with food-related life is associated with sex and age. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life Scale (PANQOL) for Spanish-Speaking Patients.

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Medina, Maria Del Mar; Carrillo, Alvaro; Polo, Ruben; Fernandez, Borja; Alonso, Daniel; Vaca, Miguel; Cordero, Adela; Perez, Cecilia; Muriel, Alfonso; Cobeta, Ignacio

2017-04-01

Objective To perform translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life Scale (PANQOL) to the Spanish language. Study Design Prospective study. Setting Tertiary neurotologic referral center. Subjects and Methods PANQOL was translated and translated back, and a pretest trial was performed. The study included 27 individuals diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma. Inclusion criteria were adults with untreated vestibular schwannoma, diagnosed in the past 12 months. Feasibility, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and ceiling and floor effects were assessed for the present study. Results The mean overall score of the PANQOL was 69.21 (0-100 scale, lowest to highest quality of life). Cronbach's α was 0.87. Intraclass correlation coefficient was performed for each item, with an overall score of 0.92. The κ coefficient scores were between moderate and almost perfect in more than 92% of patients. Anxiety and energy domains of the PANQOL were correlated with both physical and mental components of the SF-12. Hearing, balance, and pain domains were correlated with the SF-12 physical component. Facial and general domains were not significantly correlated with any component of the SF-12. Furthermore, the overall score of the PANQOL was correlated with the physical component of the SF-12. Conclusion Feasibility, internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity outcomes in the current study support the validity of the Spanish version of the PANQOL.

Proposal of a framework for scale-up life cycle inventory: A case of nanofibers for lithium iron phosphate cathode applications.

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Simon, Bálint; Bachtin, Krystyna; Kiliç, Ali; Amor, Ben; Weil, Marcel

2016-07-01

Environmental assessments are crucial for the management of the environmental impacts of a product in a rapidly developing world. The design phase creates opportunities for acting on the environmental issues of products using life cycle assessment (LCA). However, the LCA is hampered by a lack of information originating from distinct scales along the product or technology value chain. Many studies have been undertaken to handle similar problems, but these studies are case-specific and do not analyze the development options in the initial design phase. Thus, systematic studies are needed to determine the possible scaling. Knowledge from such screening studies would open the door for developing new methods that can tackle a given scaling problem. The present article proposes a scale-up procedure that aims to generate a new life cycle inventory (LCI) on a theoretical industrial scale, based on information from laboratory experiments. Three techniques are described to obtain the new LCI. Investigation of a laboratory-scale procedure is discussed to find similar industrial processes as a benchmark for describing a theoretical large-scale production process. Furthermore, LCA was performed on a model system of nanofiber electrospinning for Li-ion battery cathode applications. The LCA results support material developers in identifying promising development pathways. For example, the present study pointed out the significant impacts of dimethylformamide on suspension preparation and the power requirements of distinct electrospinning subprocesses. Nanofiber-containing battery cells had greater environmental impacts than did the reference cell, although they had better electrochemical performance, such as better wettability of the electrode, improving the electrode's electrosorption capacity, and longer expected lifetime. Furthermore, material and energy recovery throughout the production chain could decrease the environmental impacts by 40% to 70%, making the nanofiber a

Life Satisfaction in Women With Breast Cancer1

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Solange Fonseca

2014-12-01

Full Text Available It is well known that breast cancer carries many psychosocial consequences. For a deeper understanding of this topic, this study aims to analyze the relationship between life satisfaction, meaning in life, optimism, body image and depression in 55 women with breast cancer, organized into two groups: mastectomized and submitted to conservative surgery. The variables were characterized based on the results from the Auto-Actualização-SentidoVida [Self-Actualization-Life Meaning] sub-scale, the Escala de Otimismo [Optimism scale], the Body Image Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Escala de Satisfação com a Vida [Life satisfaction scale]. Meaning in life and optimism were positively correlated with life satisfaction. Higher depression and body image disturbance appeared associated with lower life satisfaction. Body image disturbance was higher in mastectomized women. It was concluded that women submitted to conservative surgery do not have more life satisfaction than mastectomized women, requiring equal attention in terms of preventing depression and promoting positive variables.

Student Life Balance: Myth or Reality?

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Doble, Niharika; Supriya, M. V.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Student life stress, student family conflict and student life balance are issues that are scarcely researched. This paper aims to develop a scale for assessing the concept of student life balance. Design/methodology/approach: The study evaluated a 54-item scale for assessing the construct. The data are obtained from 612 Indian students.…

Measurement Invariance of the Brief Multidimensional Student's Life Satisfaction Scale among Adolescents and Emerging Adults across 23 Cultural Contexts

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Abubakar, Amina; van de Vijver, Fons; Alonso-Arbiol, Itziar; He, Jia; Adams, Byron; Aldhafri, Said; Aydinli-Karakulak, Arzu; Arasa, Josephine; Boer, Diana; Celenk, Ozgur; Dimitrova, Radosveta; Ferreira, Maria Cristina; Fischer, Ronald; Mbebeb, Fomba Emmanuel; Frías, María Teresa; Fresno, Andrés; Gillath, Omri; Harb, Charles; Handani, Penny; Hapunda, Given; Kamble, Shanmukh; Kosic, Marianna; Looh, Joseph Lah; Mazrui, Lubna; Mendia, Rafael Emilio; Murugami, Margaret; Mason-Li, Mei; Pandia, Weny Savitry; Perdomo, Cristina; Schachner, Maja; Sim, Samantha; Spencer, Rosario; Suryani, Angela; Tair, Ergyul

2016-01-01

There is hardly any cross-cultural research on the measurement invariance of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scales (BMSLSS). The current article evaluates the measurement invariance of the BMSLSS across cultural contexts. This cross-sectional study sampled 7,739 adolescents and emerging adults in 23 countries. A multi-group…

Diet Quality and Satisfaction with Life, Family Life, and Food-Related Life across Families: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study with Mother-Father-Adolescent Triads.

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Schnettler, Berta; Lobos, Germán; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo; Denegri, Marianela; Ares, Gastón; Hueche, Clementina

2017-10-29

Family is a major determinant of children's and adolescents' eating behavior. The objectives of the present study were to assess diet quality, eating habits, satisfaction with life, family life, and food-related life in mother-father-adolescent triads, and to identify profiles of families according to family members' diet quality. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 300 two-parent families with one child over the age of 10 in the city of Temuco (Chile), including the Adapted Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFoL) scale, Satisfaction with Family Life (SWFaL) scales, and questions relating to their eating habits. Positive relationships were found between the diet quality of the family members, particularly between mothers and adolescents. Three family profiles with different diet qualities were identified: "families with an unhealthy diet" (39.3%), "families in which mothers and adolescents have healthy diets, but the fathers' diets require changes" (14.3%), and "families that require changes in their diet" (46.4%). These findings stress the key role of mothers in determining family diet quality and suggest a positive relationship between diet quality and satisfaction with life.

Psychometric Properties of Newly Translated Spanish Life Events Inventory and Daily Hassles Scale.

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Hannan, Jean; Youngblut, JoAnne M; Brooten, Dorothy; Bazzani, Dianne; Romero, Norma R; Chavez, Blanca; Picanes, Joann

2015-01-01

Measuring stress in Hispanic Americans, the fastest growing U.S. minority, is problematic. The Life Events Inventory (LEI) and the Daily Hassles Scale (DHS), widely used stress instruments, are not available in Spanish. To test the psychometric properties of the translated Spanish versions of the LEI and DHS. A convenience sample of 63 Hispanic women completed both instruments in Spanish and English 2 weeks apart. Internal consistency reliability and stability were strong for both instruments (.85-.97). Reliability and validity evidence for the translated Spanish versions were strong and similar to the English version. Psychometric findings suggest that the newly translated Spanish versions are good representations of the English versions and that these newly translated instruments are ready for use.

An abbreviated Faecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale for Chinese-speaking population with colorectal cancer after surgery: cultural adaptation and item reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, L-F; Hung, C-L; Kuo, L-J; Tsai, P-S

2017-09-01

No instrument is available to assess the impact of faecal incontinence (FI) of quality of life for Chinese-speaking population. The purpose of the study was to adapt the Faecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale (FIQL) for patients with colorectal cancer, assess the factor structure and reduce the items for brevity. A sample of 120 participants were enrolled. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and contrasted-groups validity were assessed. Construct validity was analysed using an exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). The internal consistency (Cronbach's α of the total scale and four subscales = 0.98 and 0.97, 0.96, 0.92, 0.82 respectively), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ≥.98 for all scales with p < .001) and significant correlations of all scales with selected subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey and the Wexner scale suggested satisfactory reliability and validity. The severe FI group (with a Wexner score ≥9) scored significantly lower on the scale than the less severe FI group (with a Wexner score <9) did (p < .001). The CFA supported a two-factor structure and demonstrated an excellent model fit of the 15-item abbreviated version of the FIQL-Chinese. The FIQL-Chinese has satisfactory validity and reliability and the abbreviated version may be more practical and applicable. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Eating Disorder Quality of Life Scale (EDQLS) in ethnically diverse college women: an exploratory factor analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Akoury, Liya M; Rozalski, Vincent; Barchard, Kimberly A; Warren, Cortney S

2018-03-01

Extant research suggests that disordered eating is common in college women and is associated with decreased quality of life. The Eating Disorder Quality of Life Scale (EDQLS) examines impairment to disordered eating-related quality of life, but has not been validated in college women. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the EDQLS in a diverse sample of 971 college women. Students from a large United States university completed questionnaires examining disordered eating and the EDQLS online. The EDQLS demonstrated excellent internal consistency and good convergent validity with the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ). Contrary to the original 12-domain design of the EDQLS, principal component analyses suggested five factors that mapped onto the following constructs: (1) Positive Emotionality; (2) Body/Weight Dissatisfaction; (3) Disordered Eating Behaviors; (4) Negative Emotionality; and (5) Social Engagement. However, 15 of the 40 items loaded onto multiple factors. Total scores on the EDQLS are reliable and valid when used with diverse samples of college women, but some revisions are needed to create subscales than can justifiably be used in clinical practice.

Psychometric Validation of Stress and Compliance Scale for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Malaysia stress scale, Stress and compliance scale for diabetes, Stress, ... and 'Rate your life on current life satisfaction scale!' People rated how often they ..... Handbook of depression in children and adolescents.

Testing the Abbreviated Food Technology Neophobia Scale and its relation to satisfaction with food-related life in university students.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnettler, Berta; Grunert, Klaus G; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo; Orellana, Ligia; Sepúlveda, José; Lobos, Germán; Hueche, Clementina; Höger, Yesli

2017-06-01

The aims of this study were to test the relationships between food neophobia, satisfaction with food-related life and food technology neophobia, distinguishing consumer segments according to these variables and characterizing them according to willingness to purchase food produced with novel technologies. A survey was conducted with 372 university students (mean aged=20.4years, SD=2.4). The questionnaire included the Abbreviated version of the Food Technology Neophobia Scale (AFTNS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and a 6-item version of the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). Using confirmatory factor analysis, it was confirmed that SWFL correlated inversely with FNS, whereas FNS correlated inversely with AFTNS. No relationship was found between SWFL and AFTNS. Two main segments were identified using cluster analysis; these segments differed according to gender and family size. Group 1 (57.8%) possessed higher AFTNS and FNS scores than Group 2 (28.5%). However, these groups did not differ in their SWFL scores. Group 1 was less willing to purchase foods produced with new technologies than Group 2. The AFTNS and the 6-item version of the FNS are suitable instruments to measure acceptance of foods produced using new technologies in South American developing countries. The AFTNS constitutes a parsimonious alternative for the international study of food technology neophobia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Initial Validation of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale into the Yoruba Language

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Akinpelu, Aderonke O.; Odetunde, Marufat O.; Odole, Adesola C.

2012-01-01

Stroke-Specific Quality of Life 2.0 (SS-QoL 2.0) scale is used widely and has been cross-culturally adapted to many languages. This study aimed at the cross-cultural adaptation of SS-QoL 2.0 to Yoruba, the indigenous language of south-western Nigeria, and to carry out an initial investigation on its validity. English SS-QoL 2.0 was first adapted…

Life Cycle Inventory Analysis for a Small-Scale Trawl Fishery in Sendai Bay, Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuhito Watanabe

2016-04-01

Full Text Available A reduced environmental burden, while maintaining high quality and low cost, has become an important factor for achieving sustainability in the fisheries sector. The authors performed life cycle inventory (LCI analysis targeting the fish production for a small-scale trawl fishery including small trawlers operating in Sendai Bay, Japan. The average annual cumulative CO2 emissions for the small trawlers were 4.7 ton-CO2/ton-product and 8.3 ton-CO2/million Japanese yen (JPN. Total fuel consumption contributed to 97% of the global warming potential. The range of variation in the basic unit of CO2 for each small trawler was also elucidated. Energy conservation through lower fuel consumption is shown to be an effective measure for reducing CO2 in a small trawler fishery. Moreover, the authors examined the system boundary, the determination of the functional unit, and the allocation method of applying LCI analysis to fisheries. Finally, the economy and environment of small trawler fisheries are discussed as important factors for sustainable fisheries, and the life cycle approach is applied to a new fishery type in Japan.

Core Self-Evaluations, life satisfaction, and sport satisfaction

OpenAIRE

Antón Aluja

2014-01-01

We investigated the association between Core Self-Evaluations (CSE) and life and sport satisfaction to assess whether the Core Self-Evaluations scale was a better predictor of life satisfaction or sport satisfaction. The study included three hundred and thirteen athletes (231 men and 82 women; age range to 47 years (Mage=22.9 years, SDage=5.9 years)). Participants completed the French language version of the CSE scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Satisfaction with Sport Scale. A...

Diet Quality and Satisfaction with Life, Family Life, and Food-Related Life across Families: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study with Mother-Father-Adolescent Triads

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Berta Schnettler

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Family is a major determinant of children’s and adolescents’ eating behavior. The objectives of the present study were to assess diet quality, eating habits, satisfaction with life, family life, and food-related life in mother–father–adolescent triads, and to identify profiles of families according to family members’ diet quality. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 300 two-parent families with one child over the age of 10 in the city of Temuco (Chile, including the Adapted Healthy Eating Index (AHEI, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS, Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFoL scale, Satisfaction with Family Life (SWFaL scales, and questions relating to their eating habits. Positive relationships were found between the diet quality of the family members, particularly between mothers and adolescents. Three family profiles with different diet qualities were identified: “families with an unhealthy diet” (39.3%, “families in which mothers and adolescents have healthy diets, but the fathers’ diets require changes” (14.3%, and “families that require changes in their diet” (46.4%. These findings stress the key role of mothers in determining family diet quality and suggest a positive relationship between diet quality and satisfaction with life.

Diet Quality and Satisfaction with Life, Family Life, and Food-Related Life across Families: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study with Mother-Father-Adolescent Triads

Science.gov (United States)

Lobos, Germán; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo; Denegri, Marianela; Ares, Gastón; Hueche, Clementina

2017-01-01

Family is a major determinant of children’s and adolescents’ eating behavior. The objectives of the present study were to assess diet quality, eating habits, satisfaction with life, family life, and food-related life in mother–father–adolescent triads, and to identify profiles of families according to family members’ diet quality. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 300 two-parent families with one child over the age of 10 in the city of Temuco (Chile), including the Adapted Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFoL) scale, Satisfaction with Family Life (SWFaL) scales, and questions relating to their eating habits. Positive relationships were found between the diet quality of the family members, particularly between mothers and adolescents. Three family profiles with different diet qualities were identified: “families with an unhealthy diet” (39.3%), “families in which mothers and adolescents have healthy diets, but the fathers’ diets require changes” (14.3%), and “families that require changes in their diet” (46.4%). These findings stress the key role of mothers in determining family diet quality and suggest a positive relationship between diet quality and satisfaction with life. PMID:29109387

Satisfaction with life and food-related life in Ecuadorian older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnettler, Berta; Lobos, Germán; Lapo, María Del Carmen; Adasme-Berríos, Cristian; Hueche, Clementina

2017-02-01

To distinguish typologies of seniors according to their levels of satisfaction with life and food-related life, and to characterize them according to the importance assigned to family, health-related aspects, eating habits, nutritional status and sociodemographic characteristics. A survey was administered to a non-probabilistic sample of 817 seniors aged 60 years and over, of both genders, resident in urban and rural zones of the province of Guayas, Ecuador. The instrument included: Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL), the Health-related Quality of Life Index (HRQOL-4) and the Family Importance Scale (FIS). Eating habits, sociodemographic variables, approximate weight and height were asked about. A cluster analysis was used to distinguish three typologies that differed significantly in the scores on the SWLS, SWFL, FIS, number of days with mental health problems, self-perception of health status, body mass index, eating habits and zone of residence. Two typologies presented high levels of satisfaction with life and food-related life, although the variables associated with overall well-being and in the food domain were different in each typology. The results suggest that high levels of satisfaction with life and food-related life in Ecuadorian seniors are associated with both healthful eating habits and having lunch in company, fewer mental health problems and greater importance assigned to family.

Food neophobia, nanotechnology and satisfaction with life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schnettler, Berta; Crisóstomo, Gloria; Sepúlveda, José

2013-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between food neophobia, satisfaction with life and food-related life, and acceptance of the use of nanotechnology in food production. Questionnaire data was collected from a sample of 400 supermarket shoppers in southern Chile. The questionnaire measured...... knowledge of nanotechnology and willingness to purchase food products involving nanotechnology, and included the SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), SWFL (Satisfaction with Foodrelated Life) and FNS (Food Neophobia Scale) scales. Using cluster analysis, four consumer types were distinguished...... with significant differences in their scores on the SWLS, SWFL and FNS. The types differed in their knowledge of nanotechnology, willingness to purchase foods involving nanotechnology, age, socioeconomic level and lifestyle. The least food-neophobic type had the highest levels of satisfaction with life...

Food neophobia, nanotechnology and satisfaction with life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schnettler, Berta; Crisóstomo, Gloria; Sepúlveda, José

2013-01-01

knowledge of nanotechnology and willingness to purchase food products involving nanotechnology, and included the SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), SWFL (Satisfaction with Foodrelated Life) and FNS (Food Neophobia Scale) scales. Using cluster analysis, four consumer types were distinguished......This study investigates the relationship between food neophobia, satisfaction with life and food-related life, and acceptance of the use of nanotechnology in food production. Questionnaire data was collected from a sample of 400 supermarket shoppers in southern Chile. The questionnaire measured...... with significant differences in their scores on the SWLS, SWFL and FNS. The types differed in their knowledge of nanotechnology, willingness to purchase foods involving nanotechnology, age, socioeconomic level and lifestyle. The least food-neophobic type had the highest levels of satisfaction with life...

Evaluation of the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale (FIQL) using item response theory reveals limitations and suggests revisions.

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Peterson, Alexander C; Sutherland, Jason M; Liu, Guiping; Crump, R Trafford; Karimuddin, Ahmer A

2018-06-01

The Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale (FIQL) is a commonly used patient-reported outcome measure for fecal incontinence, often used in clinical trials, yet has not been validated in English since its initial development. This study uses modern methods to thoroughly evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the FIQL and its potential for differential functioning by gender. This study analyzed prospectively collected patient-reported outcome data from a sample of patients prior to colorectal surgery. Patients were recruited from 14 general and colorectal surgeons in Vancouver Coastal Health hospitals in Vancouver, Canada. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess construct validity. Item response theory was used to evaluate test reliability, describe item-level characteristics, identify local item dependence, and test for differential functioning by gender. 236 patients were included for analysis, with mean age 58 and approximately half female. Factor analysis failed to identify the lifestyle, coping, depression, and embarrassment domains, suggesting lack of construct validity. Items demonstrated low difficulty, indicating that the test has the highest reliability among individuals who have low quality of life. Five items are suggested for removal or replacement. Differential test functioning was minimal. This study has identified specific improvements that can be made to each domain of the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale and to the instrument overall. Formatting, scoring, and instructions may be simplified, and items with higher difficulty developed. The lifestyle domain can be used as is. The embarrassment domain should be significantly revised before use.

Relationship between life satisfaction and quality of life in Turkish nursing school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Yildirim, Yasemin; Kilic, Serap Parlar; Akyol, Asiye Durmaz

2013-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between life satisfaction and quality of life of nursing students. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with a research population of 396 nursing students who received education at a school of nursing. The research data were collected between May and June of the 2007-2008 academic year. The data collection tools included "Student Description Form," Life Satisfaction Scale, and WHOQOL-BREF (TR) Quality of Life (QOL) Scale. The mean score of life satisfaction was 22.90 ± 5.74. Participants' QOL mean scores were 67.16 ± 15.29 in the physical domain, 64.33 ± 14.72 in the psychological domain, 62.81 ± 19.12 in the social relationships domain, and 60.59 ± 12.59 in the environmental domain. There was a significant correlation between life satisfaction and the four main domains of quality of life scores (P life satisfaction and quality of life among nursing students. In addition, it was determined that being a nursing student had a positive effect on students' life satisfaction and quality of life. Therefore, the education system is recommended to be redesigned in such a way as to make students more active and to improve their life satisfaction and quality of life. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Two-scale evaluation of remediation technologies for a contaminated site by applying economic input-output life cycle assessment: risk-cost, risk-energy consumption and risk-CO2 emission.

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Yasushi; Katayama, Arata

2011-09-15

A two-scale evaluation concept of remediation technologies for a contaminated site was expanded by introducing life cycle costing (LCC) and economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIO-LCA). The expanded evaluation index, the rescue number for soil (RN(SOIL)) with LCC and EIO-LCA, comprises two scales, such as risk-cost, risk-energy consumption or risk-CO(2) emission of a remediation. The effectiveness of RN(SOIL) with LCC and EIO-LCA was examined in a typical contamination and remediation scenario in which dieldrin contaminated an agricultural field. Remediation was simulated using four technologies: disposal, high temperature thermal desorption, biopile and landfarming. Energy consumption and CO(2) emission were determined from a life cycle inventory analysis using monetary-based intensity based on an input-output table. The values of RN(SOIL) based on risk-cost, risk-energy consumption and risk-CO(2) emission were calculated, and then rankings of the candidates were compiled according to RN(SOIL) values. A comparison between three rankings showed the different ranking orders. The existence of differences in ranking order indicates that the scales would not have reciprocal compatibility for two-scale evaluation and that each scale should be used independently. The RN(SOIL) with LCA will be helpful in selecting a technology, provided an appropriate scale is determined. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Psychological Factors Influencing Life Satisfaction of Undergraduates

OpenAIRE

Ajayi, Olubukola; Adewumi, Bukunmi

2017-01-01

This study was designed to assess the psychological factors influencing life satisfaction of undergraduates. The instruments used were Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), Rosenberge Self-esteem Scale (RSS), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A total number of 190 participants were purposively selected across various faculties in Ekiti State University. Four hypotheses were tested using Independent t-test to find the effects of perceived stres...

Life satisfaction, distress, and resiliency across the life span of women.

Science.gov (United States)

Beutel, Manfred E; Glaesmer, Heide; Decker, Oliver; Fischbeck, Sabine; Brähler, Elmar

2009-01-01

This study aimed to determine (1) the relationship between life satisfaction, mental disorders, and aging in the female community and (2) to identify the impact of vulnerability factors, personal (resilience, self-esteem), and social resources on life satisfaction and distress. A stratified random sample of the German female population (N = 2,540) was investigated using standardized questionnaires of life satisfaction (Questions on Life Satisfaction), depression, anxiety (Patient Health Questionnaire), resilience scale (RS-11), and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). When participants were divided into six age groups (18-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, and >70 y), we found lower life satisfaction, satisfaction with partnership, and sexuality beyond the age of 50 years. Satisfaction with health was decreased already at early adulthood. Although the importance of partnership/sexuality was reduced around midlife, the importance of health increased. Depression was highest in the oldest group, whereas anxiety remained fairly stable across the cohorts. Life satisfaction was strongly associated with resilience, a good household income, the presence of a partnership, absence of anxiety and depression, lack of unemployment, positive self-esteem, religious affiliation, and-least-age. Personal and social resources and the absence of anxiety and depression are of crucial importance for the maintenance of life satisfaction in aging women.

Food neophobia, nanotechnology and satisfaction with life.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnettler, Berta; Crisóstomo, Gloria; Sepúlveda, José; Mora, Marcos; Lobos, Germán; Miranda, Horacio; Grunert, Klaus G

2013-10-01

This study investigates the relationship between food neophobia, satisfaction with life and food-related life, and acceptance of the use of nanotechnology in food production. Questionnaire data was collected from a sample of 400 supermarket shoppers in southern Chile. The questionnaire measured knowledge of nanotechnology and willingness to purchase food products involving nanotechnology, and included the SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life) and FNS (Food Neophobia Scale) scales. Using cluster analysis, four consumer types were distinguished with significant differences in their scores on the SWLS, SWFL and FNS. The types differed in their knowledge of nanotechnology, willingness to purchase foods involving nanotechnology, age, socioeconomic level and lifestyle. The least food-neophobic type had the highest levels of satisfaction with life and with food-related life and also had the highest acceptance of packaging and foods produced with nanotechnology. The results suggest that the degree of food neophobia is associated with satisfaction with life and with food-related life, as well as with the acceptance of products with nanotechnological applications. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validity testing of the quality of life scale, Swedish version: focus group interviews of women with fibromyalgia.

Science.gov (United States)

Liedberg, Gunilla M; Eddy, Linda L; Burckhardt, Carol S

2012-12-01

Focus group interviews were used to examine validity of the Quality of Life Scale, Swedish version (QOLS-S) for use with women with fibromyalgia. Five interviews with 18 women with fibromyalgia were completed. The opening question was "What does quality of life mean to you?" Later, participants were asked to respond to questions about the specific domains and items in the QOLS-S. The transcribed interviews were analysed, and categories were identified. Opinions concerning domains and items in the QOLS-S were linked to domains of the QOLS-S. Four categories emerged from the opening question: finances, to be an active person and participate in society, relations with others, and health. Overall, the women's perceptions of quality of life were congruent with the domains of QOLS-S. However, further attention should be given to the translation of certain items and apparent overlaps in some items indicate that they can be combined. Also, the instrument needs to be scrutinized from a cultural perspective because some items in the "social, community and civic activities" domain were not endorsed by the participants. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analyzing Food-Related Life Satisfaction and other Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Central Chile.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnettler, Berta; Lobos, Germán; Orellana, Ligia; Grunert, Klaus; Sepúlveda, José; Mora, Marcos; Denegri, Marianela; Miranda, Horacio

2015-06-17

This study aimed to assess the effect of satisfaction with food-related life on life satisfaction among inhabitants of the main municipalities of central Chile. A survey was applied to a sample of 1,277 people, distributed proportionally by municipality. The questionnaire included the following scales: SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life) and the Health-Related Quality of Life Index (HRQOL). Questions were asked regarding eating habits inside and outside the home, time available for meals at home, the assessment of five sources of happiness and the demographic characteristics of those surveyed. An ordered logit model was proposed, in which the dependent variable was satisfaction with life. Satisfaction with life was significantly related to the respondent's socioeconomic status, self-perception of health, degree of satisfaction with food-related life, monthly food expenditure, time available for supper with the family (p health problems, frequency of supper with the family, the degree of agreement with respect to family being an important source of happiness (p food consumption in fast food outlets (p health, family and eating, and the family interaction associated with eating may play an important role in overall satisfaction with life.

Outcome Rating Scale and Session Rating Scale in Psychological Practice: Clinical Utility of Ultra-Brief Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Alistair; Hemsley, Samantha

2009-01-01

The validity and reliability of the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and the Session Rating Scale (SRS) were evaluated against existing longer measures, including the Outcome Questionnaire-45, Working Alliance Inventory, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, Quality of Life Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and General Self-efficacy Scale. The measures…

Quality of life and satisfaction with life of malaria patients in context of acceptance of the disease: quantitative studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Damme-Ostapowicz, Katarzyna; Krajewska-Kułak, Elżbieta; Rozwadowska, Emilia; Nahorski, Wacław L; Olszański, Romuald

2012-06-29

Health status is one of the basic factors of a high quality of life and the problem of the acceptance of illness is important for adaptation to the limitations imposed by it. The purpose of the study was the evaluation of the quality of life, satisfaction with life and the acceptance of illness by malaria patients, as well as the discovery of a relationship between studied parameters. The study was undertaken in August 2010, on 120 Nigerian patients with confirmed malaria. A method of diagnostic survey, based on standardized scales - Acceptance of Illness Scale, The Satisfaction With Life Scale and a standardized survey questionnaire World Health Organization Quality of Life/BREF - was used in this study. Descriptive statistics, variability range, 95% confidence interval, correlation analysis, Spearman's non-parametric correlation coefficient, Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis test were applied and the, so called, test statistics was calculated, followed by the calculation of the test probability p. Results of analyses were presented in a box graph, and a graph of dispersion. A dominating share in the adjective scale of the AIS scale was the category of "no acceptance", given by 71.7% of respondents. The average level of a "somatic domain" was 41.7, and of a "social domain" was 62.8. The mean satisfaction of life evaluation in the SWLS scale was 18 points. The correlation between acceptance of the disease and quality of life for the psychological domain was 0.39***, and between acceptance of the disease and satisfaction with life was 0.40***. The correlation between satisfaction with life and quality of life for the psychological domain was 0.65***, and between satisfaction with life and quality of life for the environment domain was 0.60***. The mean level of AIS for the studied population of men was 16.5, and test probability: p = 0.0014**, and for the environment domain the level was 50, and the test probability: p = 0.0073**. For quality of life in

Life events and Tourette syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Tamar; Shmuel-Baruch, Sharona; Horesh, Netta; Apter, Alan

2013-07-01

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric developmental disorder characterized by the presence of multiple motor tics and one or more vocal tics. Although TS is primarily biological in origin, stress-diatheses interactions most probably play a role in the course of the illness. The precise influence of the environment on this basically biological disorder is difficult to ascertain, particularly when TS is complicated by comorbidities. Among the many questions that remain unresolved are the differential impact of positive and negative events and specific subtypes of events, and the importance of major crucial events relative to minor daily ones to tic severity. To examine the relationships between life events, tic severity and comorbid disorders in Tourette Syndrome (TS), including OCD, ADHD, anxiety, depression and rage attacks. Life events were classified by quantity, quality (positive or negative) and classification types of events (family, friends etc.). Sixty patients aged 7-17 years with Tourette syndrome or a chronic tic disorder were recruited from Psychological Medicine Clinic in Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel. Yale Global Tic Severity Scale; Children's Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale; Life Experiences Survey; Brief Adolescent Life Events Scale; Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders; Child Depression Inventory/Beck Depression Inventory; ADHD Rating Scale IV; Overt Aggression Scale. Regarding tics and minor life events, there was a weak but significant correlation between severity of motor tics and the quantity of negative events. No significant correlation was found between tic severity and quantity of positive events. Analysis of the BALES categories yielded a significant direct correlation between severity of vocal tics and quantity of negative events involving friends. Regarding comorbidities and minor life events, highly significant correlations were found with depression and anxiety. Regarding tics and major life

A Study On The Psychometric Features Of The Turkish Version Of The Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (Bsss-8 For Young Adults And The Relation Between Sensation Seeking And Life Satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eyup Celik

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to adapt the sensation seeking scale for young adults into Turkish and to investigate if the life satisfaction of university students differ significantly in terms of sensation seeking. In addition, it was investigated whether the life satisfaction levels of university students differ significantly in terms of gender. The data for this research was collected from 570 university students. The original form of BSSS-8 consist of 8 items and 4 factors. The scale was subjected to CFA in order to determine the structural validity of its Turkish version and it was found that this version had a single factor structure. The results of the CFA suggested acceptable levels of fit indices (χ2/df = 4.46, RMSEA = .07, GFI =96, CFI = .94, IFI = .94, NFI = .93, AGFI = .93, and NNFI = .91. The reliability coefficient of the scale was found at a level of .79. Furthermore, corrected item total correlation were found to be in a range between .22 and .59. The results suggest that the single factor structure of the scale produces valid and reliable results. In addition, it was found that the life satisfaction levels of university students differ significantly in terms of sensation seeking level, but life satisfaction levels of university students do not differ significantly in terms of gender. The results showed that the life satisfaction levels of students with lower sensation seeking are higher than of students with higher sensation seeking

Structural validity of a 16-item abridged version of the Cervantes Health-Related Quality of Life scale for menopause: the Cervantes Short-Form Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Coronado, Pluvio J; Borrego, Rafael Sánchez; Palacios, Santiago; Ruiz, Miguel A; Rejas, Javier

2015-03-01

The Cervantes Scale is a specific health-related quality of life questionnaire that was originally developed in Spanish to be used in Spain for women through and beyond menopause. It contains 31 items and is time-consuming. The aim of this study was to produce an abridged version with the same dimensional structure and with similar psychometric properties. A representative sample of 516 postmenopausal women (mean [SD] age, 57 [4.31] y) seen in outpatient gynecology clinics and extracted from an observational cross-sectional study was used. Item analysis, internal consistency reliability, item-total and item-dimension correlations, and item correlation with the 12-item Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey Version 2.0 were studied. Dimensional and full-model confirmatory factor analyses were used to check structure stability. A threefold cross-validation method was used to obtain stable estimates by means of multigroup analysis. The scale was reduced to a 16-item version, the Cervantes Short-Form Scale, containing four main dimensions (Menopause and Health, Psychological, Sexuality, and Couple Relations), with the first dimension composed of three subdimensions (Vasomotor Symptoms, Health, and Aging). Goodness-of-fit statistics were better than those of the extended version (χ(2)/df = 2.493; adjusted goodness-of-fit index, 0.802; parsimony comparative fit index, 0.749; root mean standard error of approximation, 0.054). Internal consistency was good (Cronbach's α = 0.880). Correlations between the extended and the reduced dimensions were high and significant in all cases (P < 0.001; r values ranged from 0.90 for Sexuality to 0.969 for Vasomotor Symptoms). The Cervantes Scale can be reduced to a 16-item abridged version (Cervantes Short-Form Scale) that maintains the original dimensional structure and psychometric properties. At 51% of the original length, this version can be administered faster, making it especially suitable for routine medical practice.

Validating the Orientations to Happiness Scale in a Chinese Sample of University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Guo-Hai

2010-01-01

This paper examined the reliability and validity of the Orientation to Happiness Scale with a sample of Chinese correspondents. Chinese translation of the Orientation to Happiness Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale, and General Life Satisfaction Scale, were administered to 671 Chinese university students…

Health related quality of life in Dutch young adults: psychometric properties of the PedsQL generic core scales young adult version

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Limperg, Perrine F.; Haverman, Lotte; van Oers, Hedy A.; van Rossum, Marion A. J.; Maurice-Stam, Heleen; Grootenhuis, Martha A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to provide Dutch norm data and to assess internal consistency and construct validity for the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Young Adult Generic Core Scales (PedsQL_YA) in Dutch young adults aged 18-30 years. A sample of 649 young adults from the general Dutch

WeChat Addiction Suppresses the Impact of Stressful Life Events on Life Satisfaction.

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Li, Bi; Wu, Yan; Jiang, Shengyi; Zhai, Huizhen

2018-03-01

The current study examined the influences of stressful life events and WeChat addiction on life satisfaction, and investigated the mediating role of WeChat addiction on the relationship between the two research variables. A total of 463 undergraduates completed self-reported scales for stressful life events, WeChat addiction, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the questionnaire data. The results showed the suppressing effect of WeChat addiction on the negative impact of stressful life events on life satisfaction. Stressful life events affect life satisfaction both directly and indirectly. Stressful life events are positively associated with WeChat addiction, which exerts positive impact on life satisfaction. The contributions of the findings are discussed.

Life cycle assessment of biogas production in small-scale household digesters in Vietnam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vu, T.K.V.; Vu, D.Q.; Jensen, Lars Stoumann

2015-01-01

to transport, and the loss of biogas as a result of cracks and the intentional release of excess biogas. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to assess the environmental impacts associated with biogas digesters in Vietnam. Handling 1,000 kg of liquid manure and 100 kg of solid manure......Small-scale household digesters have been promoted across Asia as a sustainable way of handling manure. The major advantages are that they produce biogas and reduce odor. However their disadvantages include the low recycling of nutrients, because digestate is dilute and therefore difficult...... in a system with a biogas digester reduced the impact potential from 4.4 kg carbon dioxide (CO 2) equivalents to 3.2 kg CO2 equivalents compared with traditional manure management. However, this advantage could easily be compromised if digester construction is considered in the LCA or in situations where...

TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF WORK LIFE EMPLOYEE IN SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES

OpenAIRE

Dr. Devendra S. Verma; Atul Kumar Doharey

2016-01-01

Quality of work life is a policy to increase the strategies and focus is on the potential of these policies to influence employees. Quality of work life is useful for workers to use their potential to maximum extend. Quality of work life helps the employees to maintain work life balance with equal attention on their performance and commitment to work. Quality of work life helps to employees for their job satisfaction and work place environment. Quality of work life helps to the employees to ...

A case study of life cycle impacts of small-scale fishing techniques in Thailand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verones, Francesca; Bolowich, Alya F.; Ebata, Keigo

2017-01-01

Fish provides an important source of protein, especially in developing countries, and the amounts of fish consumed are increasing worldwide (mostly from aquaculture). More than half of all marine fish are caught by small-scale fishery operations. However, no life cycle assessment (LCA) of small...... inventories for three different seasons (northeast monsoon, southwest monsoon and pre-monsoon), since the time spent on the water and catch varied significantly between the seasons. Our results showed the largest impacts from artisanal fishing operations affect climate change, human toxicity, and fossil...... and metal depletion. Our results are, in terms of global warming potential, comparable with other artisanal fisheries. Between different fishing operations, impacts vary between a factor of 2 (for land transformation impacts) and up to a factor of more than 20 (fossil fuel depletion and marine...

Think Positively and Feel Positively: Optimism and Life Satisfaction in Late Life

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Leung, Beeto Wai-Chung; Moneta, Giovanni B.; Mcbride-Chang, Catherine

2005-01-01

This study developed a dispositional path model of life satisfaction for community dwelling Chinese elderly living in Hong Kong. A sample of 117 elderly completed scales measuring life satisfaction, optimism, self-esteem, relationship harmony, self-construals, and perceived/expected health and financial status. Modeling revealed that life…

The stroke impact scale: performance as a quality of life measure in a community-based stroke rehabilitation setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Marina; Campbell, Nerissa; Allen, Laura; Meyer, Matthew; Teasell, Robert

2016-07-01

The objective of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS). Data was derived from a study assessing a community-based stroke rehabilitation program. Patients were administered the SIS and Euroqol-5D (EQ-5D-5L) on admission to the study, and at six month and 12 month follow-up. The psychometric performance of each domain of the SIS was assessed at each time point. A total of 164 patients completed outcome measures at baseline, 108 patients at six months and 37 patients at 12 months. Correlation of the SIS domains with the EQ-5D-5L suggested that the dimensions of health contributing to a patient's perception of health-related quality of life changes over time. The SIS performed well in a sample of patients undergoing stroke rehabilitation in the community. Our findings suggest that the multidimensionality of the SIS may allow health professionals to track patient progress and tailor rehabilitation interventions to target the dimensions of health that are most important to a patient's overall health and perceived quality of life over time. Implications for Rehabilitation There is an increased need for valid and reliable measures to evaluate the outcomes of patients recovering from stroke in the community. The Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) measures multiple domains of health and is well-suited for use in patients recovering from stroke in the community. There is a high level of internal consistency in the eight SIS domains with no evidence of floor effects; ceiling effects were noted for several domains. Correlation of the SIS with the Euroqol-5D suggested that the dimensions of health contributing to a patient's perception of health related quality of life changes over time.

Quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia: validation and psychometric properties of the German Quality of Life Scale (QOLS-G).

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Offenbächer, Martin; Sauer, Sebastian; Kohls, Niko; Waltz, Millard; Schoeps, Peter

2012-10-01

Our objectives were to translate the Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) into German and to evaluate its reliability and validity for the use in patients with fibromyalgia (FMS). Together with German versions of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the SF-36, a tender point count (TPC) and other questionnaires, we administered the QOLS to 146 patients with FMS. Patients were asked about the severity of pain today (VAS) and the duration of symptoms. Test-retest reliability was assessed using Spearman's correlations. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity of the QOLS was evaluated by correlating the QOLS with the FIQ, the SF-36, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R) as well as with the pain variables. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was also conducted. Mean age was 53.1 years. Means were for pain today 6.8 and for duration of symptoms 11.8 years. Test-retest reliability for the total QOLS was rho = .91. Internal consistency was α = .90. Low-to-moderate correlations were obtained between the QOLS and the total FIQ (rho = -.42), the SF-36 (e.g. physical functioning rho = .37; mental health rho = .56) as well as the pain variables (VAS rho = -.11 ns; TPC rho = -.20). Psychological variables were moderately to substantially correlated with the QOLS (e.g. BDI rho = -.61). An EFA suggested a three-factor solution. The QOLS-G is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring quality of life in German patients with FMS.

Mind full of life: Does mindfulness confer resilience to suicide by increasing zest for life?

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Collins, Khan R L; Stritzke, Werner G K; Page, Andrew C; Brown, Julia D; Wylde, Tricia J

2018-01-15

Mindfulness is a trainable skill that may enhance resilience to suicidality among vulnerable groups such as young people. The current study examined whether mindfulness protects against suicidal desire in the face of heightened risk and adversity by increasing zest for life in a sample of university students. In a prospective design, participants (N = 233) were assessed at two time points over eight weeks. Online surveys included the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale, Zest for Life Scale, Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and items assessing suicidal ideation and suicidal intent. Baseline mindfulness was associated with lower suicidal ideation and intent at follow-up. Moderated mediation analyses confirmed the effects of mindfulness on ideation and intent were mediated by zest for life and these indirect effects were stronger at higher versus lower levels of general (psychological distress) and suicide-specific (perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness) risk. Single item assessments of suicidal desire. Findings suggest that mindfulness protects against suicidal desire in conditions of heightened risk and adversity by enhancing one's orientation towards a life worth living. Theories of suicide should consider the dynamic interplay between risk and life-sustaining resilience, while clinicians treating suicidality could use mindfulness strategies to strengthen the desire to (re)engage with life, thereby complementing direct amelioration of suicide risk factors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consequential environmental life cycle assessment of a farm-scale biogas plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Stappen, Florence; Mathot, Michaël; Decruyenaere, Virginie; Loriers, Astrid; Delcour, Alice; Planchon, Viviane; Goffart, Jean-Pierre; Stilmant, Didier

2016-06-15

Producing biogas via anaerobic digestion is a promising technology for meeting European and regional goals on energy production from renewable sources. It offers interesting opportunities for the agricultural sector, allowing waste and by-products to be converted into bioenergy and bio-based materials. A consequential life cycle assessment (cLCA) was conducted to examine the consequences of the installation of a farm-scale biogas plant, taking account of assumptions about processes displaced by biogas plant co-products (power, heat and digestate) and the uses of the biogas plant feedstock prior to plant installation. Inventory data were collected on an existing farm-scale biogas plant. The plant inputs are maize cultivated for energy, solid cattle manure and various by-products from surrounding agro-food industries. Based on hypotheses about displaced electricity production (oil or gas) and the initial uses of the plant feedstock (animal feed, compost or incineration), six scenarios were analyzed and compared. Digested feedstock previously used in animal feed was replaced with other feed ingredients in equivalent feed diets, designed to take account of various nutritional parameters for bovine feeding. The displaced production of mineral fertilizers and field emissions due to the use of digestate as organic fertilizer was balanced against the avoided use of manure and compost. For all of the envisaged scenarios, the installation of the biogas plant led to reduced impacts on water depletion and aquatic ecotoxicity (thanks mainly to the displaced mineral fertilizer production). However, with the additional animal feed ingredients required to replace digested feedstock in the bovine diets, extra agricultural land was needed in all scenarios. Field emissions from the digestate used as organic fertilizer also had a significant impact on acidification and eutrophication. The choice of displaced marginal technologies has a huge influence on the results, as have the

Investigating the Substantive Aspect of Construct Validity for the Satisfaction with Life Scale Adapted for Children: A Focus on Cognitive Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Gadermann, Anne M.; Guhn, Martin; Zumbo, Bruno D.

2011-01-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the substantive aspect of construct validity of the Satisfaction with Life Scale adapted for Children (SWLS-C; Gadermann et al. in Soc Indic Res 96:229-247, "2010"). Specifically, the study examined the cognitive processes of children when responding to the items of the SWLS-C to find out how they…

Minimum Efficient Scale (MES) and preferred scale of container terminals

OpenAIRE

Kaselimi, Evangelia N.; Notteboom, Theo E.; Pallis, Athanasios A.; Farrell, Sheila

2011-01-01

Abstract: The decision on the scale of a port terminal affects the terminals managerial, operational and competitive position in all the phases of its life. It also affects competition structures in the port in which the terminal is operating, and has a potential impact on other terminals. Port authorities and terminal operators need to know the scale of the terminal when engaging in concession agreements. In economic theory the scale of a plant/firm is typically defined in relation to the Mi...

Initial Reliability and Validity of the Life Satisfaction Scale for Problem Youth in a Sample of Drug Abusing and Conduct Disordered Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Donohue, Brad; Teichner, Gordon; Azrin, Nathan; Weintraub, Noah; Crum, Thomas A.; Murphy, Leah; Silver, N. Clayton

2003-01-01

Responses to Life Satisfaction Scale for Problem Youth (LSSPY) items were examined in a sample of 193 substance abusing and conduct disordered adolescents. In responding to the LSSPY, youth endorse their percentage of happiness (0 to 100%) in twelve domains (i.e., friendships, family, school, employment/work, fun activities, appearance, sex…

College Student Stress and Satisfaction with Life

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Lawrence; Laverghetta, Antonio

2009-01-01

The following study was performed to determine if general life satisfaction is negatively correlated with college student stress. We administered the satisfaction with life scale (Diener et al., 1985), college student stress scale (Feldt, 2008) and a brief demographics survey to a sample of college students at a regional southwestern university in…

Stress and Life Satisfaction of Turkish College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Kaya, Cahit; Tansey, Timothy N.; Melekoglu, Macid; Çakiroglu, Orhan

2015-01-01

This study investigated the association between perceived stress and life satisfaction of Turkish college students. The "Satisfaction with Life Scale" (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), the "Perceived Stress Scale" (Cohen & Williamson, 1988), and a brief demographic questionnaire were administered to 235 college…

Posttraumatic Maladaptive Beliefs Scale: Evolution of the Personal Beliefs and Reactions Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Vogt, Dawne S.; Shipherd, Jillian C.; Resick, Patricia A.

2012-01-01

The Posttraumatic Maladaptive Beliefs Scale (PMBS) was developed to measure maladaptive beliefs about current life circumstances that may occur following trauma exposure. This scale assesses maladaptive beliefs within three domains: (a) Threat of Harm, (b) Self-Worth and Judgment, and (c) Reliability and Trustworthiness of Others. Items for the…

Quality of life of women with lymphedema after surgery for breast cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marislei Sanches Panobianco

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated the quality of life of 20 women with post-mastectomy lymphedema due to breast cancer, using the Flanagan’s Adapted Quality of Life Scale (1 and the Visual Analogue Scale (2, with data collection from July to December 2009 in the countryside of the state of São Paulo. It was observed a lower quality of life concerning participation in recreational and work activities, and better quality of life was related to relationship with friends; listening to music, reading, watching TV and going to the movies. Cronbach's alpha of Scale 1 was 0.86 and the average of Scale 2 was 6.26. Overall, the scales showed satisfactory results of quality of life, but low values showed factors that must be worked out, such as participation in sports, work and learning activities. Thus, lymphedema interferes with the quality of life, indicating a need for early intervention in order to help women achieve better quality of life.

Multistep translation and cultural adaptation of the Penn acoustic neuroma quality-of-life scale for German-speaking patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kristin, Julia; Glaas, Marcel Fabian; Stenin, Igor; Albrecht, Angelika; Klenzner, Thomas; Schipper, Jörg; Eysel-Gosepath, Katrin

2017-11-01

Monitoring the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS) has garnered increasing interest. In German-speaking countries, there is no disease-specific questionnaire available similar to the "Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-life Scale" (PANQOL). We translated the PANQOL for German-speaking patients based on a multistep protocol that included not only a forward-backward translation but also linguistic and sociocultural adaptations. The process consists of translation, synthesis, back translation, review by an expert committee, administration of the prefinal version to our patients, submission and appraisal of all written documents by our research team. The required multidisciplinary team for translation comprised head and neck surgeons, language professionals (German and English), a professional translator, and bilingual participants. A total of 123 patients with VS underwent microsurgical procedures via different approaches at our clinic between January 2007 and January 2017. Among these, 72 patients who underwent the translabyrinthine approach participated in the testing of the German-translated PANQOL. The first German version of the PANQOL questionnaire was created by a multistep translation process. The responses indicate that the questionnaire is simple to administer and applicable to our patients. The use of a multistep process to translate quality-of-life questionnaires is complex and time-consuming. However, this process was performed properly and resulted in a version of the PANQOL for assessing the quality of life of German-speaking patients with VS.

Using large-scale data analysis to assess life history and behavioural traits: the case of the reintroduced White stork Ciconia ciconia population in the Netherlands

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Doligez, B.

2004-06-01

Full Text Available The White stork Ciconia ciconia has been the object of several successful reintroduction programmes in the last decades. As a consequence, populations have been monitored over large spatial scales. Despite these intense efforts, very few reliable estimates of life history traits are available for this species. Such general knowledge however constitutes a prerequisite for investigating the consequences of conservation measures. Using the large–scale and long–term ringing and resighting data set of White storks in the Netherlands, we investigated the variation of survival and resighting rates with age, time and previous individual resighting history, and in a second step supplementary feeding, using capture–recapture models. Providing food did not seem to affect survival directly, but may have an indirect effect via the alteration of migratory behaviour. Large–scale population monitoring is important in obtaining precise and reliable estimates of life history traits and assessing the consequences of conservation measures on these traits, which will prove useful for managers to take adequate measures in future conservation strategies.

Loneliness and life satisfaction in Japan and Australia.

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Schumaker, J F; Shea, J D; Monfries, M M; Groth-Marnat, G

1993-01-01

We examined the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction in 121 residents of Fukoku, Japan, and 139 residents of Melbourne, Australia, using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1983) and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980). Australian subjects reported significantly less loneliness and significantly greater life satisfaction than Japanese subjects. A high inverse correlation was found between loneliness and life satisfaction in Australian subjects, with a much smaller inverse relationship observed among the Japanese, suggesting that loneliness in Japanese subjects did not emotionally translate into life dissatisfaction as it did in Australian subjects. Instead, the experience of loneliness in Japanese individuals may remain largely independent of general life satisfaction.

Examining the Factors Contributing to Students' Life Satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Dogan, Ugur; Celik, Eyup

2014-01-01

In this study, the authors examined the relationship between students' life satisfaction, school engagement, and confidence in the classroom. An analysis was performed of how students' life satisfaction differs according to their housing, school type, and classroom level. The multidimensional student satisfaction scale, confidence scale in the…

Translation and validation of the Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents scale with neuromuscular disorders: LSI-A Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdecir Antonio Simon

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective To validate the Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents (LSI-A scale, parent version and patient version, for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD. Methods The parent version of the instrument was divided into Groups A, B, C and D; and the patient version, divided into B, C and D. For the statistical calculation, the following tests were used: Cronbach’s α, ICC, Pearson and the ROC Curve. Results The parent and patient versions of the instrument are presented, with the following results in the overall score, respectively: Cronbach’s α, 0.87 and 0.89; reliability, r 0.98 and 0.97; reproducibility, ICC 0.69 and 0.80; sensitivity, 0.78 and 0.72; specificity, 0.5 and 0.69; and accuracy, 64% and 70.4%. Conclusion According to the validity and reproducibility values, the LSI-A Brazil parent and patient versions, are clinically useful to assess quality of life in DMD, SMA or LGMD and may also be useful for other neuromuscular disorders.

Translation and validation of the Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents scale with neuromuscular disorders: LSI-A Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Valdecir Antonio; Zanoteli, Edmar; Simon, Margarete Andreozzi Vaz Pereira; Resende, Maria Bernadete Dutra de; Reed, Umbertina Conti

2017-08-01

To validate the Life Satisfaction Index for Adolescents (LSI-A) scale, parent version and patient version, for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). The parent version of the instrument was divided into Groups A, B, C and D; and the patient version, divided into B, C and D. For the statistical calculation, the following tests were used: Cronbach's α, ICC, Pearson and the ROC Curve. The parent and patient versions of the instrument are presented, with the following results in the overall score, respectively: Cronbach's α, 0.87 and 0.89; reliability, r 0.98 and 0.97; reproducibility, ICC 0.69 and 0.80; sensitivity, 0.78 and 0.72; specificity, 0.5 and 0.69; and accuracy, 64% and 70.4%. According to the validity and reproducibility values, the LSI-A Brazil parent and patient versions, are clinically useful to assess quality of life in DMD, SMA or LGMD and may also be useful for other neuromuscular disorders.

Depression and life satisfaction in Nepal and Australia.

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Simpson, P L; Schumaker, J F; Dorahy, M J; Shrestha, S N

1996-12-01

For this study of cultural differences in the extent of depressive symptomatology and life satisfaction, 311 Australian and 250 Nepalese university students completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). No significant differences were found in depressive symptomatology. Australian respondents reported significantly higher life satisfaction than Nepalese. A moderate significant inverse relationship was found between depressive symptoms and life satisfaction in the Australian respondents, with a smaller significant inverse relationship observed among the Nepalese respondents. The findings suggest that the experience of depressive symptoms may be partially independent of life satisfaction for this Nepalese sample.

Dimensionality and measurement invariance in the Satisfaction with Life Scale in Norway.

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Clench-Aas, Jocelyne; Nes, Ragnhild Bang; Dalgard, Odd Steffen; Aarø, Leif Edvard

2011-10-01

Results from previous studies examining the dimensionality and factorial invariance of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) are inconsistent and often based on small samples. This study examines the factorial structure and factorial invariance of the SWLS in a Norwegian sample. Confirmatory factor analysis (AMOS) was conducted to explore dimensionality and test for measurement invariance in factor structure, factor loadings, intercepts, and residual variance across gender and four age groups in a large (N = 4,984), nationally representative sample of Norwegian men and women (15-79 years). The data supported a modified unidimensional structure. Factor loadings could be constrained to equality between the sexes, indicating metric invariance between genders. Further testing indicated invariance also at the strong and strict levels, thus allowing analyses involving group means. The SWLS was shown to be sensitive to age, however, at the strong and strict levels of invariance testing. In conclusion, the results in this Norwegian study seem to confirm that a unidimensional structure is acceptable, but that a modified single-factor model with correlations between error terms of items 4 and 5 is preferred. Additionally, comparisons may be made between the genders. Caution must be exerted when comparing age groups.

Validity and reliability of a Nigerian-Yoruba version of the stroke-specific quality of life scale 2.0.

Science.gov (United States)

Odetunde, Marufat Oluyemisi; Akinpelu, Aderonke Omobonike; Odole, Adesola Christiana

2017-10-19

Psychometric evidence is necessary to establish scientific integrity and clinical usefulness of translations and cultural adaptations of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life (SS-QoL) scale. However, the limited evidence on psychometrics of Yoruba version of SS-QoL 2.0 (SS-QoL(Y)) is a significant shortcoming. This study assessed the test-retest reliability, internal consistency, convergent, divergent, discriminant and known-group validity of the SS-QoL(Y). Yoruba version of the WHOQoL-BREF was used to test the convergent and divergent validity of the SS-QoL(Y) among 100 consenting stroke survivors. The WHOQoL-BREF and SS-QoL(Y) was administered randomly in order to eliminate bias. The test-retest reliability of the SS-QoL(Y) was carried out among 68 of the respondents within an interval of 7 days. All respondents were purposively recruited from selected secondary and tertiary health facilities in South-west Nigeria. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, and inferential statistics of Spearman correlation, Cronbach's alpha, Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC), Independent t-test and One-way ANOVA. Alpha level was set at p validity of SS-QoL(Y) showed that items' r value ranged from 0.711 to 0.920 with their hypothesized domains. The scale demonstrated moderate to strong test-retest reliability with Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for the domains and overall scores (r = 0.47 to 0.81) and moderate to high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha =0.61 to 0.82) for domains scores. These correlations were also significant for the domains and overall scores (p validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Yoruba version of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life 2.0 are adequate while the convergent and divergent validity are low but acceptable. The SS-QoL(Y) is recommended for assessing health-related quality of life among Yoruba stroke survivors.

Principal component analysis of the Norwegian version of the quality of life in late-stage dementia scale.

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Mjørud, Marit; Kirkevold, Marit; Røsvik, Janne; Engedal, Knut

2014-01-01

To investigate which factors the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) scale holds when used among people with dementia (pwd) in nursing homes and to find out how the symptom load varies across the different severity levels of dementia. We included 661 pwd [mean age ± SD, 85.3 ± 8.6 years; 71.4% women]. The QUALID and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale were applied. A principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization was applied to test the factor structure. Nonparametric analyses were applied to examine differences of symptom load across the three CDR groups. The mean QUALID score was 21.5 (±7.1), and the CDR scores of the three groups were 1 in 22.5%, 2 in 33.6% and 3 in 43.9%. The results of the statistical measures employed were the following: Crohnbach's α of QUALID, 0.74; Bartlett's test of sphericity, p Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure, 0.77. The PCA analysis resulted in three components accounting for 53% of the variance. The first component was 'tension' ('facial expression of discomfort', 'appears physically uncomfortable', 'verbalization suggests discomfort', 'being irritable and aggressive', 'appears calm', Crohnbach's α = 0.69), the second was 'well-being' ('smiles', 'enjoys eating', 'enjoys touching/being touched', 'enjoys social interaction', Crohnbach's α = 0.62) and the third was 'sadness' ('appears sad', 'cries', 'facial expression of discomfort', Crohnbach's α 0.65). The mean score on the components 'tension' and 'well-being' increased significantly with increasing severity levels of dementia. Three components of quality of life (qol) were identified. Qol decreased with increasing severity of dementia. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Dietary restraint, life satisfaction and self-discrepancy by gender in university students

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Berta Schnettler

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to characterize dieting and non-dieting university students by gender, based on their satisfaction with life and their food-related life, self-discrepancy, food behavior and health-related aspects. A non-probabilistic sample of 305 students from five Chilean state universities responded a questionnaire that included the Revised Restraint Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Satisfaction with Food-related Life Scale, the Health-related Quality of Life Index, the Nutrition Interest Scale and the Self-Discrepancy Index. Socio-demographic characteristics, food behavior, and approximate weight and height were also enquired. Chronic dieters and non-dieters were distinguished according to the median score of the Revised Restraint Scale. 51.1% of women and 55.5% of men classified as chronic dieters, sharing characteristics such as nutrition concern, mental health problems, higher body mass index, and physical and economic self-discrepancy. Women dieters reported lower life satisfaction and satisfaction with food-related life, more health problems and health-related restriction of food, while men dieters showed higher social and emotional self-discrepancy.

Health-Related Quality of Life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Linde, Louise; Sørensen, Jan; Ostergaard, Mikkel

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To compare validity, reliability, and responsiveness of generic and disease specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Two samples of patients completed the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), EuroQol (EQ)-5D......, 15D, Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life Scale (RAQoL), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and visual analog scales (VAS) for pain, fatigue, and global RA. Validity (convergent, discriminant, and known-groups) was evaluated in a cross-section of 200 patients. Reliability was evaluated...

Predictors of quality of life among Chinese people with schizophrenia.

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Wang, Xiao Qin; Petrini, Marcia A; Morisky, Donald E

2017-06-01

This study was designed to investigate the association of quality of life, perceived stigma, and medication adherence among Chinese patients with schizophrenia, and to ascertain the predictors of quality of life. A cross-sectional correlation study was conducted with 146 participants. All participants completed self-report scales: the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale, Link's Stigma Scale, and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Pearson parametric correlations and stepwise multiple regressions were performed. The total quality of life score and psychosocial subscale was significantly positively correlated with perceived stigma, coping orientation of withdrawal, and feelings of stigma, and negatively correlated with age and medication adherence. The means of all subscale scores except perceived devaluation-discrimination and different/guilty feelings were significantly higher than the midpoint of 2.5. The best predictors of quality of life and psychosocial domains were stigma-related feelings: feeling misunderstood, feeling different/shame, and age. Our findings suggest that an individual's negative emotional response may strengthen internalized stigma and decrease quality of life. As the best predictor, age indicated that adaptation to mental illness may relieve perceived stigma and achieve favorable quality of life. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Relating quality of life to Glasgow outcome scale health states.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosty, Jennifer; Macyszyn, Luke; Lai, Kevin; McCroskery, James; Park, Hae-Ran; Stein, Sherman C

2012-05-01

There has recently been a call for the adoption of comparative effectiveness research (CER) and related research approaches for studying traumatic brain injury (TBI). These methods allow researchers to compare the effectiveness of different therapies in producing patient-oriented outcomes of interest. Heretofore, the only measures by which to compare such therapies have been mortality and rate of poor outcome. Better comparisons can be made if parametric, preference-based quality-of-life (QOL) values are available for intermediate outcomes, such as those described by the Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE). Our objective was therefore to determine QOL for the health states described by the GOSE. We interviewed community members at least 18 years of age using the standard gamble method to assess QOL for descriptions of GOSE scores of 2-7 derived from the structured interview. Linear regression analysis was also performed to assess the effect of age, gender, and years of education on QOL. One hundred and one participants between the ages of 18 and 83 were interviewed (mean age 40 ± 19 years), including 55 men and 46 women. Functional impairment and QOL showed a strong inverse relationship, as assessed by both linear regression and the Spearman rank order coefficient. No consistent effect or age, gender, or years of education was seen. As expected, QOL decreased with functional outcome as described by the GOSE. The results of this study will provide the groundwork for future groups seeking to apply CER methods to clinical studies of TBI.

Some comments on mapping from disease-specific to generic health-related quality-of-life scales.

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Palta, Mari

2013-01-01

An article by Lu et al. in this issue of Value in Health addresses the mapping of treatment or group differences in disease-specific measures (DSMs) of health-related quality of life onto differences in generic health-related quality-of-life scores, with special emphasis on how the mapping is affected by the reliability of the DSM. In the proposed mapping, a factor analytic model defines a conversion factor between the scores as the ratio of factor loadings. Hence, the mapping applies to convert true underlying scales and has desirable properties facilitating the alignment of instruments and understanding their relationship in a coherent manner. It is important to note, however, that when DSM means or differences in mean DSMs are estimated, their mapping is still of a measurement error-prone predictor, and the correct conversion coefficient is the true mapping multiplied by the reliability of the DSM in the relevant sample. In addition, the proposed strategy for estimating the factor analytic mapping in practice requires assumptions that may not hold. We discuss these assumptions and how they may be the reason we obtain disparate estimates of the mapping factor in an application of the proposed methods to groups of patients. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality of life assessment in facial palsy: validation of the Dutch Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale.

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Kleiss, Ingrid J; Beurskens, Carien H G; Stalmeier, Peep F M; Ingels, Koen J A O; Marres, Henri A M

2015-08-01

This study aimed at validating an existing health-related quality of life questionnaire for patients with facial palsy for implementation in the Dutch language and culture. The Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale was translated into the Dutch language using a forward-backward translation method. A pilot test with the translated questionnaire was performed in 10 patients with facial palsy and 10 normal subjects. Finally, cross-cultural adaption was accomplished at our outpatient clinic for facial palsy. Analyses for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity and responsiveness were performed. Ninety-three patients completed the Dutch Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale, the Dutch Facial Disability Index, and the Dutch Short Form (36) Health Survey. Cronbach's α, representing internal consistency, was 0.800. Test-retest reliability was shown by an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.737. Correlations with the House-Brackmann score, Sunnybrook score, Facial Disability Index physical function, and social/well-being function were -0.292, 0.570, 0.713, and 0.575, respectively. The SF-36 domains correlate best with the FaCE social function domain, with the strongest correlation between the both social function domains (r = 0.576). The FaCE score did statistically significantly increase in 35 patients receiving botulinum toxin type A (P = 0.042, Student t test). The domains 'facial comfort' and 'social function' improved statistically significantly as well (P = 0.022 and P = 0.046, respectively, Student t-test). The Dutch Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale shows good psychometric values and can be implemented in the management of Dutch-speaking patients with facial palsy in the Netherlands. Translation of the instrument into other languages may lead to widespread use, making evaluation and comparison possible among different providers.

Scientific and Religious Beliefs about the Origin of Life and Life after Death: Validation of a Scale

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Bautista, Jesús Silva; Escobar, Venazir Herrera; Miranda, Rodolfo Corona

2017-01-01

The variety of explanations to questions about the origin of life, life after death or about the role itself of being in the world are built on the rational reflection that integrates the ideology of human beings as well as less rational practices and more emotional ones than in the whole nourish what has been called "beliefs".…

Schizotypy and hemispheric asymmetry: Results from two Chapman scales, the O-LIFE questionnaire, and two laterality measures.

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Schofield, Kerry; Mohr, Christine

2014-01-01

Schizotypy is a multidimensional personality construct representing the extension of psychosis-like traits into the general population. Schizotypy has been associated with attenuated expressions of many of the same neuropsychological abnormalities as schizophrenia, including atypical pattern of functional hemispheric asymmetry. Unfortunately the previous literature on links between schizotypy and hemispheric asymmetry is inconsistent, with some research indicating that elevated schizotypy is associated with relative right over left hemisphere shifts, left over right hemisphere shifts, bilateral impairments, or with no hemispheric differences at all. This inconsistency may result from different methodologies, scales, and/or sex proportions between studies. In a within-participant design we tested for the four possible links between laterality and schizotypy by comparing the relationship between two common self-report measures of multidimensional schizotypy (the O-LIFE questionnaire, and two Chapman scales, magical ideation and physical anhedonia) and performance in two computerised lateralised hemifield paradigms (lexical decision, chimeric face processing) in 80 men and 79 women. Results for the two scales and two tasks did not unequivocally support any of the four possible links. We discuss the possibilities that a link between schizotypy and laterality (1) exists but is subtle, probably fluctuating, unable to be assessed by traditional methodologies used here; (2) does not exist, or (3) is indirect, mediated by other factors (e.g., stress-responsiveness, handedness, drug use) whose influences need further exploration.

Stressful life events and neuroticism as predictors of late-life versus early-life depression.

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Weber, Kerstin; Giannakopoulos, Panteleimon; Herrmann, François R; Bartolomei, Javier; Digiorgio, Sergio; Ortiz Chicherio, Nadia; Delaloye, Christophe; Ghisletta, Paolo; Lecerf, Thierry; De Ribaupierre, Anik; Canuto, Alessandra

2013-12-01

The occurrence of depression in younger adults is related to the combination of long-standing factors such as personality traits (neuroticism) and more acute factors such as the subjective impact of stressful life events. Whether an increase in physical illnesses changes these associations in old age depression remains a matter of debate. We compared 79 outpatients with major depression and 102 never-depressed controls; subjects included both young (mean age: 35 years) and older (mean age: 70 years) adults. Assessments included the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, NEO Personality Inventory and Cumulative Illness Rating Scale. Logistic regression models analyzed the association between depression and subjective impact of stressful life events while controlling for neuroticism and physical illness. Patients and controls experienced the same number of stressful life events in the past 12 months. However, in contrast to the controls, patients associated the events with a subjective negative emotional impact. Negative stress impact and levels of neuroticism, but not physical illness, significantly predicted depression in young age. In old age, negative stress impact was weakly associated with depression. In this age group, depressive illness was also determined by physical illness burden and neuroticism. Our data suggest that the subjective impact of life stressors, although rated as of the same magnitude, plays a less important role in accounting for depression in older age compared to young age. They also indicate an increasing weight of physical illness burden in the prediction of depression occurrence in old age. © 2013 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2013 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Determinants of quality of life in Brazilian patients with myasthenia gravis.

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Mourão, Aline Mansueto; Gomez, Rodrigo Santiago; Barbosa, Luiz Sergio Mageste; Freitas, Denise da Silva; Comini-Frota, Elizabeth Regina; Kummer, Arthur; Lemos, Stella Maris Aguiar; Teixeira, Antonio Lucio

2016-07-01

The aims of the current study were 1) to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Brazilian version of the 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life Scale and 2) to investigate the quality of life of Brazilian patients with myasthenia gravis and its determinants. This cross-sectional study included 69 patients with myasthenia gravis who underwent neurological evaluation and completed questionnaires regarding quality of life (the 36-item Short Form of the Medical Outcomes Study and the 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life Scale), anxiety and depressive symptoms. The Brazilian version of the 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life Scale showed high internal consistency and good concurrent validity with the 36-item Short Form of the Medical Outcomes Study and its subscales. Determinants of quality of life in Brazilian patients with myasthenia gravis included the current status of myasthenia gravis as assessed by the Myasthenia Gravis Composite, the current prednisone dose and the levels of anxiety and depression. The Brazilian version of the 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life Scale is a valid instrument. Symptom severity, prednisone dosage and anxiety and depression levels impact the quality of life of patients with myasthenia gravis.

Validity and reliability of the Iranian version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 (PedsQL™ Generic Core Scales in children

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Amiri Parisa

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the Iranian version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 (PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales in children. Methods A standard forward and backward translation procedure was used to translate the US English version of the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales for children into the Iranian language (Persian. The Iranian version of the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales was completed by 503 healthy and 22 chronically ill children aged 8-12 years and their parents. The reliability was evaluated using internal consistency. Known-groups discriminant comparisons were made, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA were conducted. Results The internal consistency, as measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficients, exceeded the minimum reliability standard of 0.70. All monotrait-multimethod correlations were higher than multitrait-multimethod correlations. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC between the children self-report and parent proxy-reports showed moderate to high agreement. Exploratory factor analysis extracted six factors from the PedsQL™ 4.0 for both self and proxy reports, accounting for 47.9% and 54.8% of total variance, respectively. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis for 6-factor models for both self-report and proxy-report indicated acceptable fit for the proposed models. Regarding health status, as hypothesized from previous studies, healthy children reported significantly higher health-related quality of life than those with chronic illnesses. Conclusions The findings support the initial reliability and validity of the Iranian version of the PedsQL™ 4.0 as a generic instrument to measure health-related quality of life of children in Iran.

Validation of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL): test of reliability and validity of the Danish version (SS-QOL-DK).

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Muus, Ingrid; Williams, Linda S; Ringsberg, Karin C

2007-07-01

To test the reliability and validity of the Danish version of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale version 2.0 (SS-QOL-DK), an instrument for evaluation of health-related quality of life. A correlational study. A stroke unit that provides acute care and rehabilitation for stroke patients in Frederiksborg County, Denmark. One hundred and fifty-two stroke survivors participated; 24 of these performed test-retest. Questionnaires were sent out and returned by mail. A subsequent telephone interview assessed functional level and missing items. Test-retest was measured using Spearman's r, internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach's alpha, and evaluation of floor and ceiling values in proportion of minimum and maximum scores. Construct validity was assessed by comparing patients' scores on the SS-QOL-DK with those obtained by other test methods: Beck's Depression Index, the General Health Survey Short Form 36 (SF-36), the Barthel Index and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, evaluating shared variance using coefficient of determination, r2. Comparing groups with known scores assessed known-group validity. Convergent and discriminant validity were assessed. Test-retest of SS-QOL-DK showed excellent stability, Spearman's r = 0.65-0.99. Internal consistency for all domains showed Cronbach's alpha = 0.81-0.94. Missing items rate was 1.0%. Most SS-QOL-DK domains showed moderately shared variance with similar domains of other test methods, r2 = 0.03-0.62. Groups with known differences showed statistically significant difference in scores. Item-to-scale correlation coefficients of 0.37-0.88 supported convergent validity. SS-QOL-DK is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring self-reported health-related quality of life on group level among people with mild to moderate stroke.

Development and Validation of a PTSD-Related Impairment Scale

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-01

Social Adjustment Scale (SAS-SR) (58] Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) [59] Life Stressors and Social Resources Inventory ( LISRES ) [60] 3...measure that gauges on- 200 Social Resources lnven- 2. Spouse/partner going life stressors and social resources tory ( LISRES ; Moos & 3. Finances as well...measures (e.g., ICF checklist, LISRES ; Moos, Penn, & Billings, 1988) may nor be practical or desirable in many healthcare settings or in large-scale

The quality of life and satisfaction with life of women who are childless by choice.

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Bień, Agnieszka; Rzońca, Ewa; Iwanowicz-Palus, Grażyna; Lecyk, Urszula; Bojar, Iwona

2017-05-11

Objective. The study attempts to identify and analyze factors affecting the quality of life and satisfaction with life of women who are childless by choice. Materials and method. The research instruments used were: the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and author's own questionnaire. Results. A better overall quality of life, perception of own health and quality of life in all the specific domains analyzed was found among childless women living in cities, college/university-educated, and with a good or very good financial standing. Conclusions. A positive correlation was found between satisfaction with life and overall quality of life, general perceived health, and all quality of life domains. Higher satisfaction with life scores in childless women are correlated with a higher quality of life scores and better perceived health.

[Psychological and behavioral predictors of the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Juczyński, Z; Adamiak, G

2000-06-01

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between some psychological and behavioural variables associated with disease, and health related quality of life. A survey was conducted on a sample of 44 people with multiple sclerosis. Quality of life was defined as life satisfaction and subjective assessment of current health status. The following methods were used: The Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener et al.) and Visual Analogue Scale (single-item self-ratings of health) to measure the quality of life; Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale--MHLC (Wallston et al.); Acceptance of Illness Scale (Felton et al.); Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg); Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (Watson and Greer) and Health Behaviour Inventory (Juczyński). A series of step-wise regression models and discriminant function analysis on future quality of life variables were calculated, taking as predictors psychological and behavioural variables. High self-esteem, engagement in a large number of health behaviour and acceptance of illness were most predictive of good health related quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis.

An Examination of Meaning in Life, Satisfaction with Life, Self-Concept and Locus of Control among Teachers

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Tas, Ibrahim; Iskender, Murat

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine meaning in life, satisfaction with life, self-concept and locus of control among teachers by several variables. The research group was composed of 363 teachers (114 [40%] women, 219 [60%] men) working in several districts of Istanbul. The data were collected with Meaning in Life Scale (MLS), Satisfaction with…

Life Cycle Sustainability Dashboard

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Traverso, Marzia; Finkbeiner, Matthias; Jørgensen, Andreas

2012-01-01

One method to assess the sustainability performance of products is life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), which assesses product performance considering the environmental,economic, and social dimensions of the life cycle. The results of LCSA can be used to compare different products...... of sustainability is the communicability of the results by means of a graphical representation (a cartogram), characterized by a suitable chromatic scale and ranking score. The integration of LCSA and the dashboard of sustainability into a so-called Life Cycle Sustainability Dashboard (LCSD) is described here...

Using large-scale data analysis to assess life history and behavioural traits: the case of the reintroduced White stork Ciconia ciconia population in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doligez, B.; Thomson, D.L.; Van Noordwijk, A.J.

2004-01-01

The White stork Ciconia ciconia has been the object of several successful reintroduction programmes in the last decades. As a consequence, populations have been monitored over large spatial scales. Despite these intense efforts, very few reliable estimates of life history traits are available for

Environmental implications of large-scale adoption of wind power: a scenario-based life cycle assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arvesen, Anders; Hertwich, Edgar G

2011-01-01

We investigate the potential environmental impacts of a large-scale adoption of wind power to meet up to 22% of the world’s growing electricity demand. The analysis builds on life cycle assessments of generic onshore and offshore wind farms, meant to represent average conditions for global deployment of wind power. We scale unit-based findings to estimate aggregated emissions of building, operating and decommissioning wind farms toward 2050, taking into account changes in the electricity mix in manufacturing. The energy scenarios investigated are the International Energy Agency’s BLUE scenarios. We estimate 1.7–2.6 Gt CO 2 -eq climate change, 2.1–3.2 Mt N-eq marine eutrophication, 9.2–14 Mt NMVOC photochemical oxidant formation, and 9.5–15 Mt SO 2 -eq terrestrial acidification impact category indicators due to global wind power in 2007–50. Assuming lifetimes 5 yr longer than reference, the total climate change indicator values are reduced by 8%. In the BLUE Map scenario, construction of new capacity contributes 64%, and repowering of existing capacity 38%, to total cumulative greenhouse gas emissions. The total emissions of wind electricity range between 4% and 14% of the direct emissions of the replaced fossil-fueled power plants. For all impact categories, the indirect emissions of displaced fossil power are larger than the total emissions caused by wind power.

Psychometric Properties of Farsi Version of the Wish to be Dead Scale.

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Dadfar, Mahboubeh; Lester, David; Atef Vahid, Mohammad Kazem; Abdel-Khalek, Ahmed M

2017-11-01

The Wish to be Dead Scale (WDS) is a new scale to measure precursors to suicidal ideation, and the aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric characteristics of a Farsi version of the WDS. The sample was a convenience sample of 145 Iranian female undergraduates and postgraduates selected from different faculties at Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Using a principal component analysis and a varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization, three factors were identified and labeled: (a) lack of purpose and usefulness in life, (b) lack of interest in living, and (c) fantasizing about being dead. The WDS had good inter-item and test-retest reliability and significant positive correlations with scores on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-10 and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and negative correlations with scores on the Adult Hope Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Love of Life Scale, the Life Orientation Test, and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. We conclude that the WDS may prove to be useful in clinical practice and research into suicide.

Life cycle analysis of small scale pellet boilers characterized by high efficiency and low emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monteleone, B.; Chiesa, M.; Marzuoli, R.; Verma, V.K.; Schwarz, M.; Carlon, E.; Schmidl, C.; Ballarin Denti, A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • LCA was performed on innovative small scale pellet boilers. • Pellet boilers impacts were compared to oil and natural gas boilers impacts. • Both literature and experimental data were used for life cycle analysis. • The environmental impact due to all life cycle phases was envisaged. • Sensitivity tests evidenced realistic ways for pellet boilers impact reduction. - Abstract: This study focuses on the environmental impact assessment through Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of two innovative 10 kW pellet boilers. In particular, the second boiler represents a technological evolution of the first one developed to improve its performance in terms of efficiency and environmental impact. For both boilers, emission factors measured during laboratory tests (full load tests and specific load cycle tests representative of real life boiler operation) have been used as input data in the life cycle analysis. The SimaPro software (v.8.0.4.30) was used for the LCA and the ReCiPe Midpoint method (European version H) was chosen to assess the environmental impact of all boilers (according to LCA ISO standards). In addition, the ReCiPe Endpoint method was used to compare the final results of all 5 boilers with literature data. The pelletisation process represented the most relevant share of the overall environmental impact followed by the operational phase, the manufacturing phase and the disposal phase. A sensitivity analysis performed on the most efficient pellet boiler evidenced the variation of the boiler’s environmental impact as a function of PM10 and NO X emission factors with respect to emission factors monitored during boiler full load operation. Moreover, the reduction of the boiler’s weight and the adoption of new electronic components led to a consistent reduction (−18%) of its environmental impact with respect to the previous technology. A second LCA has been carried on for a 15 kW oil boiler, a 15 kW natural gas boiler and a 15 kW pellet boiler

A comparison of working in small-scale and large-scale nursing homes: A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative evidence.

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Vermeerbergen, Lander; Van Hootegem, Geert; Benders, Jos

2017-02-01

Ongoing shortages of care workers, together with an ageing population, make it of utmost importance to increase the quality of working life in nursing homes. Since the 1970s, normalised and small-scale nursing homes have been increasingly introduced to provide care in a family and homelike environment, potentially providing a richer work life for care workers as well as improved living conditions for residents. 'Normalised' refers to the opportunities given to residents to live in a manner as close as possible to the everyday life of persons not needing care. The study purpose is to provide a synthesis and overview of empirical research comparing the quality of working life - together with related work and health outcomes - of professional care workers in normalised small-scale nursing homes as compared to conventional large-scale ones. A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies. A systematic literature search (April 2015) was performed using the electronic databases Pubmed, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL and Web of Science. References and citations were tracked to identify additional, relevant studies. We identified 825 studies in the selected databases. After checking the inclusion and exclusion criteria, nine studies were selected for review. Two additional studies were selected after reference and citation tracking. Three studies were excluded after requesting more information on the research setting. The findings from the individual studies suggest that levels of job control and job demands (all but "time pressure") are higher in normalised small-scale homes than in conventional large-scale nursing homes. Additionally, some studies suggested that social support and work motivation are higher, while risks of burnout and mental strain are lower, in normalised small-scale nursing homes. Other studies found no differences or even opposing findings. The studies reviewed showed that these inconclusive findings can be attributed to care workers in some

Evaluation of acne quality of life, loneliness and life satisfaction levels in adolescents with acne vulgaris

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İjlal Erturan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Design: Acne vulgaris is a dermatological disorder mainly seen in adolescents. Psychiatric morbidity has been reported in these patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of life, loneliness and life satisfaction levels in adolescents with acne vulgaris. Materials and Methods: A total of 264 adolescents with acne and 250 controls were included in the study. Acne severity was determined by the Global Acne Grading System (GAGS. Acne Quality of Life Scale (AQOL; developed by Gupta et al., UCLA Loneliness scale (ULS; developed by Russell, Peplau & Ferguson (1978, and the Life Satisfaction Scale (LSS; developed by Diener et al. were used to asses life quality, loneliness and life satisfaction levels, respectively in adolescents with acne and in controls. Results: The mean AQOL and the mean ULS scores were significantly higher in patients (13.67±4.75 vs 11.14±2.94, p<0.001 and 32.15±8.46 vs 30.52±8.70,p=0.031, respectively. The mean LSS score was significantly lower in acne patients (21.82±6.40 than in controls (23.04±6.45, p=0.033. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean LSS scores between the mild, moderate and severe acne patients (22.15±6.32, 21.61±6.20, 16.00±7.26, respectively; Kruskal Wallis Test p=0.036. While there was no significant difference in the mean ULS and LSS scores between the genders. The mean ALQI score was significantly higher in males than in females (p=0.004. Conclusion: Our results indicated that acne quality of life and life satisfaction levels were significantly reduced while loneliness levels were significantly increased in adolescents with acne compared to controls. Our study is important in terms of being the first study investigating the loneliness and life satisfaction levels in acne patients and the relationship between these parameters and severity of acne.

A measure of satisfaction with food-related life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.; Dean, Moira; Raats, Monique M.

2007-01-01

A measure of satisfaction with food-related life is developed and tested in three studies in eight European countries. Five items are retained from an original pool of seven; these items exhibit good reliability as measured by Cronbach's alpha, good temporal stability, convergent validity with two...... related measures, and construct validity as indicated by relationships with other indicators of quality of life, including the Satisfaction With Life and the SF-8 scales. It is concluded that this scale will be useful in studies trying to identify factors contributing to satisfaction with food...

Psychometric properties of the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) and its relationship with life-stress, anxiety and depression in a Hispanic Latin-American community sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Morote, Roxanna; Hjemdal, Odin; Martinez Uribe, Patricia; Corveleyn, Jozef

2017-01-01

Resilience is a multi-dimensional construct associated with health and well-being. At present, we do not yet have a valid, scientific instrument that is designed to evaluate adult resilience in Spanish-speaking countries and that accounts for family, social and individual components. This study aimed at investigating the construct and cross-cultural validity of the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) by combining Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) and Hierarchical Regression models in a Hispanic Latin-American group. A community sample of 805 adults answered the RSA, Spanish Language Stressful Life-Events checklist (SL-SLE), and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25). First-order CFA verified the six factors structure for the RSA (RMSEA = .037, SRMR = .047, CFI = .91, TLI = .90). Five RSA scales and total score have good internal consistency (scales α > .70; total score α = .90). Two second-order CFA verified the intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions of the protector factors of resilience, as well as their commonality and uniqueness with affective symptoms (anxiety and depression). An exploratory MDS reproduced the relations of RSA items and factors at first and second-order levels against random simulated data, thereby providing initial evidence of its cross-cultural validity in a Spanish-speaking group. The Four-steps hierarchical model showed that the RSA scales are the strongest predictors of anxiety and depression-greater than gender, age, education and stressful life-events. Three RSA scales are significant unique predictors of affective symptoms. In addition, similar to findings in diverse cultural settings, resilience is positively associated with age but not with education. Women report higher scores of Social Resources and Social Competence and lower scores of Perception of the Self. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the construct and criterion-related validity of the RSA in broad, diverse and Spanish speaking

Validation of the facial dysfunction domain of the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life (PANQOL) Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Lodder, Wouter L; Adan, Guleed H; Chean, Chung S; Lesser, Tristram H; Leong, Samuel C

2017-06-01

The objective of this study is to evaluate the strength of content validity within the facial dysfunction domain of the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life (PANQOL) Scale and to compare how it correlates with a facial dysfunction-specific QOL instrument (Facial Clinimetric Evaluation, FaCE). The study design is online questionnaire survey. Members of the British Acoustic Neuroma Association received both PANQOL questionnaires and the FaCE scale. 158 respondents with self-identified facial paralysis or dysfunction had completed PANQOL and FaCE data sets for analysis. The mean composite PANQOL score was 53.5 (range 19.2-93.5), whilst the mean total FaCE score was 50.9 (range 10-95). The total scores of the PANQOL and FaCE correlated moderate (r = 0.48). Strong correlation (r = 0.63) was observed between the PANQOL's facial dysfunction domain and the FaCE total score. Of all the FaCE domains, social function was strongly correlated with the PANQOL facial dysfunction domain (r = 0.66), whilst there was very weak-to-moderate correlation (range 0.01-0.43) to the other FaCE domains. The current study has demonstrated a strong correlation between the facial dysfunction domains of PANQOL with a facial paralysis-specific QOL instrument.

Life Satisfaction in Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas-Carrasco, Ramona; Salvador-Carulla, Luis

2012-01-01

We appraised life satisfaction using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and analysed its psychometric properties in persons with intellectual disability (ID). Ninety-nine persons with ID from four services in Spain participated. A battery of subjective assessments was used, including the SWLS, a Quality of Life measure (WHOQOL-BREF), and…

Association of Stressful Life Events with Psychological Problems: A Large-Scale Community-Based Study Using Grouped Outcomes Latent Factor Regression with Latent Predictors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akbar Hassanzadeh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. The current study is aimed at investigating the association between stressful life events and psychological problems in a large sample of Iranian adults. Method. In a cross-sectional large-scale community-based study, 4763 Iranian adults, living in Isfahan, Iran, were investigated. Grouped outcomes latent factor regression on latent predictors was used for modeling the association of psychological problems (depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, measured by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12, as the grouped outcomes, and stressful life events, measured by a self-administered stressful life events (SLEs questionnaire, as the latent predictors. Results. The results showed that the personal stressors domain has significant positive association with psychological distress (β=0.19, anxiety (β=0.25, depression (β=0.15, and their collective profile score (β=0.20, with greater associations in females (β=0.28 than in males (β=0.13 (all P<0.001. In addition, in the adjusted models, the regression coefficients for the association of social stressors domain and psychological problems profile score were 0.37, 0.35, and 0.46 in total sample, males, and females, respectively (P<0.001. Conclusion. Results of our study indicated that different stressors, particularly those socioeconomic related, have an effective impact on psychological problems. It is important to consider the social and cultural background of a population for managing the stressors as an effective approach for preventing and reducing the destructive burden of psychological problems.

Association of Stressful Life Events with Psychological Problems: A Large-Scale Community-Based Study Using Grouped Outcomes Latent Factor Regression with Latent Predictors

Science.gov (United States)

Hassanzadeh, Akbar; Heidari, Zahra; Hassanzadeh Keshteli, Ammar; Afshar, Hamid

2017-01-01

Objective The current study is aimed at investigating the association between stressful life events and psychological problems in a large sample of Iranian adults. Method In a cross-sectional large-scale community-based study, 4763 Iranian adults, living in Isfahan, Iran, were investigated. Grouped outcomes latent factor regression on latent predictors was used for modeling the association of psychological problems (depression, anxiety, and psychological distress), measured by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), as the grouped outcomes, and stressful life events, measured by a self-administered stressful life events (SLEs) questionnaire, as the latent predictors. Results The results showed that the personal stressors domain has significant positive association with psychological distress (β = 0.19), anxiety (β = 0.25), depression (β = 0.15), and their collective profile score (β = 0.20), with greater associations in females (β = 0.28) than in males (β = 0.13) (all P < 0.001). In addition, in the adjusted models, the regression coefficients for the association of social stressors domain and psychological problems profile score were 0.37, 0.35, and 0.46 in total sample, males, and females, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion Results of our study indicated that different stressors, particularly those socioeconomic related, have an effective impact on psychological problems. It is important to consider the social and cultural background of a population for managing the stressors as an effective approach for preventing and reducing the destructive burden of psychological problems. PMID:29312459

Lifetime traumatic events, health-related quality of life, and satisfaction with life in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamoureux-Lamarche, Catherine; Vasiliadis, Helen-Maria

2017-10-01

The aims were to assess the association between lifetime traumatic events and post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and satisfaction with life stratified by gender among a community-dwelling sample of older adults. Data used came from the ESA-Services study (2011-2013) and included a large convenience sample of 1811 older adults. Traumatic events were measured using a list of 14 events. PTSS was measured using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. HRQOL and life satisfaction were measured with the EQ-5D-3L and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Multivariate regression analyses were used to assess the association between traumatic events, PTSS, and quality of life. Respondents had a mean age of 73.90 years (SD: 6.13, range 65-97). Our results showed that exposure to violence (OR 4.88, CI 2.72-8.77), an accident (OR 2.33, CI 1.29-4.22), and sexual abuse (OR 2.26 CI 1.17-4.37) was associated with PTSS only in women. No traumatic event was associated only in men. The interaction between gender and exposure to violence and life-threatening disease of a close one was significant. Experiencing violence (β = -0.04, p life-threatening disease (β = -0.04, p life-threatening disease of a close one, sexual abuse, and other type of traumatic events. A life-threatening disease (β = -0.90, p life satisfaction only in men and the exposure of violence (β = -1.18, p life satisfaction in women. Our study could help healthcare professionals to identify and monitor traumatic events that are at higher risk to be associated with PTSS and a lower quality of life for older men and women.

Mechanics over micro and nano scales

CERN Document Server

Chakraborty, Suman

2011-01-01

Discusses the fundaments of mechanics over micro and nano scales in a level accessible to multi-disciplinary researchers, with a balance of mathematical details and physical principles Covers life sciences and chemistry for use in emerging applications related to mechanics over small scales Demonstrates the explicit interconnection between various scale issues and the mechanics of miniaturized systems

The Adaptation, Validation, Reliability Process of the Turkish Version Orientations to Happiness Scale

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Hakan Saricam

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to adapt the Scale of Happiness Orientations, which was developed by Peterson, Park, and Seligman (2005, into Turkish and examine the psychometric properties of the scale. The participants of the research consist of 489 students. The psychometric properties of the scale was examined with test methods; linguistic equivalence, descriptive factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, criterion-related validity, internal consistency, and test-retest. For criterion-related validity (concurrent validity, the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Form is used. Articles resulting from the descriptive factor analysis for structural validity of scale were summed into three factors (life of meaning, life of pleasure, life of engagement in accordance with the original form. Confirmatory factor analysis conducted yielded the value of three-factor fit indexes of 18 items: (χ2/df=1.94, RMSEA= .059, CFI= .96, GFI= .95, IFI= .95, NFI= .96, RFI= .95 and SRMR= .044. Factor load of the scale ranges from .36 to .59. During criterion-validity analysis, between Scale of Happiness Orientations and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, positive strong relations were seen at the level of p<.01 significance level. Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient was .88 for the life of meaning sub-scale, .84 for the life of pleasure sub-scale, and .81 for the life of engagement sub-scale. In addition, a corrected items total correlation ranges from .39 to .61. According to these results, it can be said that the scale is a valid and reliable assessment instrument for positive psychology, educational psychology, and other fields.

THE DETERMINANTS OF SATISFACTION WITH LIFE IN ADOLESCENTS

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Đenita Tuce

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to establish the total and individual contributions of family context variables (perception of parental behavior of mothers and fathers, and perception of family adaptability and cohesion and personality traits of the adolescents (Big five personality traits and Locus of Control in explaining the variance of satisfaction with life in adolescents. The research sample consisted of 425 participants (200 female and 225 male. The average age of participants was M=18 (SD=.72. The data were collected using group work method and the following instruments were applied: Children’s Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, Big Five Personality Factors Self-reported Scale, Externality Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale. The results of hierarchical analyses indicate that described set of predictor variables account for 53% of total variance of satisfaction with life in girls and 52% of total variance of satisfaction with life in boys. It was found that variables of family context and adolescents' personality traits contribute significantly in explaining the variance of satisfaction with life for both, girls and boys. Analyses conducted separately for the subsample of girls and boys have provided a better insight into results and showed that patterns of these relations are somewhat different for girls and boys, namely, that predictors of satisfaction with life are not the same for these two groups. The results of this study clearly indicate the importance of perception of parental warmth and acceptance, as well as personality traits of adolescent, as an important protective factor, which has effects on satisfaction with life in adolescents of both genders.

Multi-scale Fatigue Damage Life Assessment of Railroad Wheels

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

This study focused on the presence of a crack in the railway wheels subsurface and how it affects the wheels fatigue life. A 3-D FE-model was constructed to simulate the stress/strain fields that take place under the rolling contact of railway ...

Quality of life in obese children

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Lital Moro Bass

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess quality of life in obese children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 30 obese children who attended the Health Promotion Center of Einstein Program in Paraisópolis Community. The following instruments were applied: quality of life assessment questionnaire; a questionnaire prepared by the authors and a survey in medical charts. Rresults: In the group of 30 obese children, 57% were female, ages ranging from four to ten years. The mean total score obtained through the quality of life assessment of obese children was 48.5. As to the four factors considered in the quality of life scale, leisure achieved the highest score, and autonomy the lowest. Regarding the results concerning each item of the quality of life assessment scale, the highest ranked items were those related to birthday parties and vacations. The lowest were related to admission to hospital and be away from the family. Cconclusion: The findings of the present study concerning the general score of quality of life assessment in obese children was lower than those observed in studies evaluating quality of life in healthy children and children with associated disease, but no negative impact in the quality of life of obese children was demonstrated, although the total score was close to the cutoff score (< 48.

Relationship of Life Satisfaction and Job Satisfaction among Pakistani Army Soldiers

OpenAIRE

Summaira Naz

2015-01-01

The present study had two main objectives; first, to discover the relationships between job satisfaction and life satisfaction in Pakistani army soldiers, second, to find out the age, salary, marital status, and education differences on job satisfaction and life satisfaction in Pakistani army soldiers. In the present study two questionnaires; Job Satisfaction Scale JSS (Macdonald & Maclntyre, 1997) and Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, ...

Succession of microbial functional communities in response to a pilot-scale ethanol-blended fuel release throughout the plume life cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Jie; Deng, Ye; Yuan, Tong; Zhou, Jizhong; Alvarez, Pedro J.J.

2015-01-01

GeoChip, a comprehensive gene microarray, was used to examine changes in microbial functional gene structure throughout the 4-year life cycle of a pilot-scale ethanol blend plume, including 2-year continuous released followed by plume disappearance after source removal. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and Mantel tests showed that dissolved O 2 (which was depleted within 5 days of initiating the release and rebounded 194 days after source removal) was the most influential environmental factor on community structure. Initially, the abundance of anaerobic BTEX degradation genes increased significantly while that of aerobic BTEX degradation genes decreased. Gene abundance for N fixation, nitrification, P utilization, sulfate reduction and S oxidation also increased, potentially changing associated biogeochemical cycle dynamics. After plume disappearance, most genes returned to pre-release abundance levels, but the final functional structure significantly differed from pre-release conditions. Overall, observed successions of functional structure reflected adaptive responses that were conducive to biodegradation of ethanol-blend releases. - Highlights: • GeoChip discerned microbial functional changes through an ethanol blend plume. • The release increased gene abundance for anaerobic BTEX degradation. • The release changed key biogeochemical (N, P, C, and S) cycling gene abundance. • The functional structure did not recover 4 months after the plume attenuated. • Dissolved O 2 was the most influential factor shaping community structure. - Geochip analysis discerned adaptive shifts in microbial functional structure and controlling environmental factors throughout a 4-year life cycle of a pilot-scale ethanol blend plume

Health-related quality of life for pediatric emergency department febrile illnesses: an Evaluation of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 generic core scales

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Stevens Molly W

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective We sought to assess the validity and short-term responsiveness of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales (PedsQL™ for febrile illnesses evaluated in the pediatric emergency department (ED. Design Prospective cohort study of children 2–18 years discharged after ED evaluation for fever (≥ 38°C. Self-administered, parent-report of health-related quality of life (HRQOL was assessed using the PedsQL™ Acute Version, a validated HRQOL instrument. HRQOL was measured on ED presentation and at 7–10 day follow-up. At follow-up, duration of fever, child functional impairment, missed daycare/school, and disrupted family unit functioning, were assessed. Results Of 160 subjects enrolled, 97 (61% completed the study; mean follow-up was 8.7 days. Mean total HRQOL score on ED presentation was 76.4; mean follow-up score was 86.3. Compared to subjects that returned to baseline, statistically significant differences in HRQOL were noted for those with prolonged fever, child functional impairment, and relapse. Significant correlation was observed between HRQOL at follow-up and days of daycare/school missed (r = -0.35, p = .003 and days of family disruption (r = -0.43, p Conclusion The PedsQL™ appears to be a valid and responsive indicator of HRQOL for short-term febrile illnesses evaluated in the ED.

STUDENT ACADEMIC SUPPORT AS A PREDICTOR OF LIFE SATISFACTION IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

OpenAIRE

Ahmet Akýn; Serhat Arslan; Eyüp Çelik; Çýnar Kaya; Nihan Arslan

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Academic Support and Life Satisfaction. Participants were 458 university students who voluntarily filled out a package of self-report instruments. Student Academic Support Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale were used as measures. The relationships between student academic support and life satisfaction were examined using correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis. Life satisfaction was predicted positively by info...

Influencing variables on life satisfaction of Korean elders in institutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sung, Ki-Wol

2003-12-01

The number of elders in institutions has increased as family supporting systems have changed in Korea. The purpose of this study were to understand the life satisfaction among elders in institutions and to identify the factors influencing on life satisfaction. The instruments used were Yun(1982)'s scale modified Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale for Happiness(MUNSH) in life satisfaction, ADL and IADL in activity level, Self-rating Depression Scale(SDS) in depression and Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire(NSSQ) scale in social support. Also, Perceived health status was measured by Visual Graphic Rating Scale. The subject of this study is 107 cognitively intact and ambulatory elders in 7 institutions in Daegu city and Kyungpook province. The data have been collected from May 1 to June 30, 2001. For the analysis of collected data, frequency analysis, mean, standard deviation, Pearson's correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used for statistical analysis by SPSSwin(version 9.0) program. Life satisfaction for the elders in institutions showed negative correlation with SDS, and positive correlation with activity level. The regression form of the stepwise multiple regression analysis to investigate the influencing factors of life satisfaction for the elders in institutions was expressed by y = 90.988-0.733x1-0.188x2-0.069x3-0.565x4 (x1: SDS x2: Social support x3: Activity level x4: Monthly pocket Money) and 57.9% of variance in life satisfaction was explained by the model. The factors influencing on life satisfaction among the elders in institutions were SDS, social support, activity level and monthly pocket money. According to the results of this study, depression, social support and activity level are considered the prime causal factors for life satisfaction.

Comparison and Evaluation of Large-Scale and On-Site Recycling Systems for Food Waste via Life Cycle Cost Analysis

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Kyoung Hee Lee

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost-benefit of on-site food waste recycling system using Life-Cycle Cost analysis, and to compare with large-scale treatment system. For accurate evaluation, the cost-benefit analysis was conducted with respect to local governments and residents, and qualitative environmental improvement effects were quantified. As for the local governments, analysis results showed that, when large-scale treatment system was replaced with on-site recycling system, there was significant cost reduction from the initial stage depending on reduction of investment, maintenance, and food wastewater treatment costs. As for the residents, it was found that the cost incurred from using the on-site recycling system was larger than the cost of using large-scale treatment system due to the cost of producing and installing the on-site treatment facilities at the initial stage. However, analysis showed that with continuous benefits such as greenhouse gas emission reduction, compost utilization, and food wastewater reduction, cost reduction would be obtained after 6 years of operating the on-site recycling system. Therefore, it was recommended for local governments and residents to consider introducing an on-site food waste recycling system if they are to replace an old treatment system or need to establish a new one.

Creep life prediction of super heater coils used in coal based thermal power plants subjected to fly ash erosion and oxide scale formation

Science.gov (United States)

Srinivasan, P.; Kushwaha, Shashank

2018-04-01

Super heater coils of the coal based thermal power plants and subjected to severe operating conditions from both steam side and gas side. Formation of oxide scale due to prolonged service lead to temperature raise of the tube and erosion due to fly ash present in the combusted gases leads to tube thinning. Both these factors lead to creep rupture of the coils much before the designed service life. Failure of super heater coils during service of the boiler leads to power loss and huge monitory loss to the power plants. An attempt is made to model the creep damage caused to the super heater coils using heat transfer analysis tube thinning due to erosive wear of the tubes. Combined effects of these parameters are taken into consideration to predict the life of the super heater coils. This model may be used to estimate the life of the coils operating under the severe operating conditions to prevent the unexpected failure of the coils.

Health-related quality-of-life scales in Parkinson's disease: critique and recommendations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Martinez-Martin, Pablo; Jeukens-Visser, Martine; Lyons, Kelly E.; Rodriguez-Blazquez, C.; Selai, Caroline; Siderowf, Andrew; Welsh, Mickie; Poewe, Werner; Rascol, Oliver; Sampaio, Cristina; Stebbins, Glenn T.; Goetz, Christopher G.; Schrag, Anette

2011-01-01

Health-related quality of life is an important patient-reported outcome used in intervention trials and for monitoring the consequences of health status on physical, mental, and social domains. Parkinson's disease is a complex disorder that strongly affects patients' quality of life. Several

The Need for Cognition and Life Satisfaction Among College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Coutinho, Savia A.; Woolery, Lisa M.

2004-01-01

The relationship between the need for cognition and life satisfaction was explored among college students. The 18-item short Need for Cognition Scale (NCS; Cacioppo, Petty, & Kao, 1984) and the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) were administered to 157 undergraduate university students.…

Using best-worst scaling choice experiments to elicit the most important domains of health for health-related quality of life in Singapore

OpenAIRE

Uy, Elenore Judy B.; Bautista, Dianne Carrol; Xin, Xiaohui; Cheung, Yin Bun; Thio, Szu-Tien; Thumboo, Julian

2018-01-01

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments are sometimes used without explicit understanding of which HRQOL domains are important to a given population. In this study, we sought to elicit an importance hierarchy among 27 HRQOL domains (derived from the general population) via a best-worst scaling survey of the population in Singapore, and to determine whether these domains were consistently valued across gender, age, ethnicity, and presence of chronic illnesses. We conducted a communi...

Hope, Coping, and Quality of Life in Adults with Myasthenia Gravis.

Science.gov (United States)

Koopman, Wilma J; LeBlanc, Nicole; Fowler, Sue; Nicolle, Michael W; Hulley, Denise

2016-01-01

Myasthenia gravis significantly impacts quality of life. However, the relationship between hope, coping, and quality of life (QOL)in myasthenia patients has not been studied (Kulkantrakorn & Jarungkiatkul, 2009; Raggi et al., 2010). The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between hope, coping, and quality of life in adults with myasthenia gravis. Subjects with MG (n = 100) completed six questionnaires, including a demographic profile, the Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living Scale (MG-ADL), Herth Hope Index (HHI), Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS), Myasthenia Gravis Quality-of-Life Scale (MG-QOL15), and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36v2). Mean hope scores indicated a high level of hope. An optimistic coping style was the most common and effective coping strategy identified by subjects. Positive thinking and humour were also frequently used strategies. Participants identified quality of life as good tolerability, above general population mental well-being, and below general populationphysical well-being. Participants who identified good quality of life had low scores on the MG-QOL15 scale and high scores on the SF36v2. Hope and independence for activities of daily living were found to correlate with improved quality of life and mental well-being(p life in the relationship between hope and coping. Hope and coping were not important factors for well-being or quality of life. Nurses caring for adults with myasthenia gravis should use interventions that continue to support hope, quality of life, and coping throughout the unpredictable and chronic course of MG.

Evo-SETI SCALE to measure Life on Exoplanets

Science.gov (United States)

Maccone, Claudio

2016-04-01

that the GBM exponential may be regarded as the geometric locus of all the peaks of a one-parameter (i.e. the peak time p) family of b-lognormals. Since b-lognormals are pdf-s, the area under each of them always equals 1 (normalization condition) and so, going from left to right on the time axis, the b-lognormals become more and more ;peaky;, and so they last less and less in time. This is precisely what happened in human history: civilizations that lasted millennia (like Ancient Greece and Rome) lasted just centuries (like the Italian Renaissance and Portuguese, Spanish, French, British and USA Empires) but they were more and more advanced in the ;level of civilization;. This ;level of civilization; is what physicists call ENTROPY. Also, in refs. Maccone [3] and [4], this author proved that, for all GBMs, the (Shannon) Entropy of the b-lognormals in his Peak-Locus Theorem grows LINEARLY in time. The Molecular Clock, well known to geneticists since 50 years, shows that the DNA base-substitutions occur LINEARLY in time since they are neutral with respect to Darwinian selection. In simple words: DNA evolved by obeying the laws of quantum physics only (microscopic laws) and not by obeying assumed ;Darwinian selection laws; (macroscopic laws). This is Kimura's neutral theory of molecular evolution. The conclusion is that the Molecular Clock and the b-lognormal Entropy are the same thing. At last, we reach the new, original result justifying the publication of this paper. On exoplanets, molecular evolution is proceeding at about the same rate as it did proceed on Earth: rather independently of the physical conditions of the exoplanet, if the DNA had the possibility to evolve in water initially. Thus, Evo-Entropy, i.e. the (Shannon) Entropy of the generic b-lognormal of the Peak-Locus Theorem, provides the Evo-SETI SCALE to measure the evolution of life on exoplanets.

Workload and quality of life of surgeons. Results and implications of a large-scale survey by the German Society of Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Bohrer, Thomas; Koller, Michael; Schlitt, Hans Juergen; Bauer, Hartwig

2011-06-01

Quality of life is of vital importance for patients undergoing surgery. However, little is known about the quality of life of surgeons who are facing a stressful and dramatically changing working environment. For this reason, this large-scale study investigated the quality of life (QL) of surgeons in Germany in the context of occupational, private, and system-related risk factors. The study population consisted of attendees (surgeons, non-surgical physicians, medical students) of the nine major annual conferences of the German Society of Surgery between 2008 and 2009. Participants filled in a single questionnaire including study-specific questions (demographic variables, professional position, and occupational situation) and a standardized quality of life instrument (Profiles of quality of life of the chronically ill, PLC). Surgeons' responses with regard to their professional situation and their quality of life were contrasted with those of the two controls (non-surgical physicians, medical students). Furthermore, PLC scores were compared with German population reference data and with reference data of several patient groups. Individuals (3,652) (2,991 surgeons, 561 non-surgical physicians, 100 medical students) participated in this study. The average age of surgeons and non-surgeons was in the low forties. In terms of professional qualifications, the majority of surgeons were residents (30%) and the majority of non-surgeons consultants in private practice (38%). Sixty-eight percent of the surgeons, only 39% of the non-surgeons worked more than 60 h per week on average (p family life due to work overload, more so than non-surgeons (74% vs. 59%, p quality of life as worse than that of the general public (non-surgeons, 22%; p quality of life even lower than that of their patients (non-surgeons, 17%; p quality of life questionnaire confirmed these results, showing score values lower than those of the German population reference data and of several patient

Preferences for care towards the end of life when decision-making capacity may be impaired: A large scale cross-sectional survey of public attitudes in Great Britain and the United States.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gemma Clarke

Full Text Available There is continuing public debate about treatment preferences at the end of life, and the acceptability and legal status of treatments that sustain or end life. However, most surveys use binary yes/no measures, and little is known about preferences in neurological disease when decision-making capacity is lost, as most studies focus on cancer. This study investigates changes in public preferences for care towards the end of life, with a focus on measures to sustain or end life.Large-scale international public opinion surveys using a six-stage patient vignette, respondents chose a level of intervention for each stage as health and decision-making capacity deteriorated. Cross-sectional representative samples of the general public in Great Britain and the USA (N = 2016. Primary outcome measure: changes in respondents' preferences for care, measured on a four-point scale designed before data collection. The scale ranged from: maintaining life at all costs; to intervention with agreement; to no intervention; to measures for ending life.There were no significant differences between GB and USA. Preference for measures to sustain life at all costs peaked at short-term memory loss (30.2%, n = 610. Respondents selecting 'measures to help me die peacefully' increased from 3.9% to 37.0% as the condition deteriorated, with the largest increase occurring when decision-making capacity was lost (10.3% to 23.0%. Predictors of choosing 'measures to help me die peacefully' at any stage were: previous personal experience (OR = 1.34, p<0.010, and older age (OR = 1.09 per decade, p<0.010. Negative predictors: living with children (OR = 0.72, p<0.010 and being of "black" race/ethnicity (OR = 0.45, p<0.001.Public opinion was uniform between GB and USA, but markedly heterogeneous. Despite contemporaneous capacitous consent providing an essential legal safeguard in most jurisdictions, there was a high prevalence of preference for "measures to end my life peacefully" when

Characteristic sizes of life in the oceans - from bacteria to whales

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Ken Haste; Berge, T.; Goncalves, R.

2016-01-01

-based scaling laws for resource acquisition, mobility, sensory range, and progeny size for all pelagic marine life, from bacteria to whales. Further, we review and develop simple theoretical arguments for observed scaling laws and the characteristic sizes of a change or breakdown of power laws. We divide life...... in the ocean into seven major realms based on trophic strategy, physiology, and life history strategy. Such a categorization represents a move away from a taxonomically oriented description toward a trait-based description of life in the oceans. Finally, we discuss life forms that transgress the simple size......-based rules and identify unanswered questions....

Perceived Emotional Intelligence, Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction in Adolescents

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Lourdes Rey

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The present study examined the relationship between perceived emotional intelligence, selfesteem and life satisfaction in a sample of 316 Spanish adolescents (179 females and 137 males, ranging in age from 14 to 18. Demographic information was collected, along with data through the use of three self-report measures: the Trait Meta-Mood Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. As expected, perceived emotional dimensions, particularly mood clarity and repair, showed positive associations with life satisfaction. Self-esteem also correlated significantly and positively with levels of adolescents´ satisfaction with life. More interestingly, results of structural equation modelling indicated that mood clarity and emotional repair had a significant direct and indirect link (via selfesteem with life satisfaction in adolescents. The present study contributes to an emerging understanding of the underlying process between perceived emotional intelligence and life satisfaction. Our findings encourage moving beyond the examination of direct association between perceived emotional intelligence and life satisfaction and focusing on the role of potential mechanisms such as self-esteem involved in the link between perceived emotional intelligence and life satisfaction in adolescents. Implications of the present findings for future research are discussed, as well as potential interventions for increasing subjective well-being in adolescents.

Intrapersonal self-transcendence, meaning-in-life and nurse-patient interaction: powerful assets for quality of life in cognitively intact nursing-home patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Haugan, Gørill; Moksnes, Unni Karin; Løhre, Audhild

2016-12-01

Spirituality has demonstrated a significant impact on quality of life in nursing-home patients. Likewise, as essential aspects of spirituality, hope, self-transcendence, and meaning are found to be vital resources to nursing-home patients' global well-being. Further, nurse-patient interaction has demonstrated a powerful influence on patient's hope, self-transcendence, and meaning-in-life, as well as on anxiety and depression. The present study investigated the associations of hope, self-transcendence, meaning, and perceived nurse-patient interaction with quality of life. In a cross-sectional design, a sample of 202 cognitively intact nursing-home patients in Mid-Norway responded to the Herth Hope Index, the Self-Transcendence scale, the Purpose-in-Life test, the Nurse-Patient Interaction scale, and a one-item overall measure on quality of life. Using SPSS ordinal regression, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted with quality of life as dependent variable. Controlling for gender, age, and residential time, all the scales were significantly related to quality of life in the bivariate analyses. Intrapersonal self-transcendence showed an exceptional position presenting a very high odds ratio in the bivariate analysis, and also the strongest association with quality of life in multivariate analyses. Meaning and nurse-patient interaction also showed independent and significant associations with quality of life. The associations found encourage the idea that intrapersonal self-transcendence, meaning-in-life, and nurse-patient interaction are powerful health-promoting factors that significantly influence on nursing-home patients' quality of life. Therefore, pedagogical approaches for advancing caregivers' presence and confidence in health-promoting interaction should be upgraded and matured. Proper educational programs for developing interacting skills including assessing and supporting patients' intrapersonal self-transcendence and meaning-in-life should be

The Relationship between Conflict Communication, Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction in University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Arslan, Coskun; Hamarta, Erdal; Uslu, Mustafa

2010-01-01

The current study used a survey model to analyze 306 university students to investigate relationship between life satisfaction, self-esteem and conflict communication. Data were collected from the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and Conflict Communication Scale. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were…

Revised multicultural perspective index and measures of depression, life satisfaction, shyness, and self-esteem.

Science.gov (United States)

Mowrer, Robert R; Parker, Keesha N

2004-12-01

In a 2002 publication, Mowrer and McCarver reported weak but significant correlations (r =.24) between scores on the Multicultural Perspective Index and scores on Neugarten, Havighurst, and Tobin's 1961 Life Satisfaction Index-A and the Life Satisfaction Scale developed in 1985 by Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin. Using 382 undergraduate students the present study reduced the Index from 42 to 29 items based on each item's correlation with total items. An additional 104 undergraduate students then completed the modified 29-item version, Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, Cheek and Buss's Shyness Scale, the Self-rating Depression Scale by Zung, and the Neugarten, et al. Life Satisfaction Index-A. Scores on the modified Index were negatively correlated with those on the Depression and Shyness scales and positively correlated with scores on the Self-esteem and Life Satisfaction scales (p< .05).

Model Peranan Work Life Balance, Stres Kerja dan Kepuasan Kerja pada Karyawan

OpenAIRE

Nurendra, Annisaa Miranty; Saraswati, Mega Putri

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to measure the empirical model of work life balance, job stress and job satisfaction. Participants in this study were 119 employees who work on some hotels in Yogyakarta. Job satisfaction was measured using job satisfaction scale that was developed based on Luthans, b) work life balance was measured using work life balance scale that was developed based on Hudson and 3) job stress scale based on Beehr andNewman was used to measure job stress. Simple mediation anal...

Family's difficulty scale in end-of-life home care: a new measure of the family's difficulties in caring for patients with cancer at the end of life at home from bereaved family's perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishii, Yoko; Miyashita, Mitsunori; Sato, Kazuki; Ozawa, Taketoshi

2012-02-01

The aim of this study was to develop a tool to measure the family's difficulties in caring for cancer patients at the end of life at home: Family's Difficulty Scale in end-of-life home care (FDS). The draft of the FDS was derived from a pilot interview survey and literature reviews. The questionnaires were sent to 395 bereaved family caregivers whose family members were patients with terminal cancer receiving home service. We obtained 306 responses (response rate, 81%). Factor analysis resulted in 29 items and 8 factors: Burden of Care, Concerns about Home Care Doctor, Balance of Work and Care, Patient's Pain and Condition, Concerns about Visiting Nurse, Concerns about Home Care Service, Relationship between Family Caregivers and their Families, and Funeral Preparations. The cumulative rate of contribution was 71.8%. Cronbach coefficient α for the FDS was 0.73-0.75; the intraclass correlation coefficient in the test-retest examination was 0.75-0.85. Evidence for construct validity was confirmed by convergent and divergent validity. Concurrent validity was confirmed by significant correlations between identified factors and concurrent measures. The validity and reliability of this new instrument were confirmed. This scale should help home care providers to assess and focus on family difficulties and provide individualized care for the family who cares for a patient with terminal cancer at home.

Participation in everyday life and life satisfaction in persons with stroke and their caregivers 3-6 months after onset.

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Bergström, Aileen L; von Koch, Lena; Andersson, Magnus; Tham, Kerstin; Eriksson, Gunilla

2015-06-01

To explore and describe persons with stroke and their caregivers' restrictions in participation in everyday occupations, i.e. occupational gaps, 3-6 months post-stroke, in relation to life satisfaction, combined life satisfaction, care-giver burden, perceived impact of stroke, and activities of daily living. Cross-sectional study. Persons with stroke and their caregivers (105 dyads). The Occupational Gaps Questionnaire, Life Satisfaction Checklist, Caregiver Burden Scale, Stroke Impact Scale and Barthel Index were used. Correlations were analysed with Spearman's rank, and regression analyses used life satisfaction as the dependent variable. At least one person in 86% of the dyads perceived restrictions in participation, with the most common gap in travelling for pleasure. Correlations were low between the numbers of occupational gaps and life satisfaction (R = -0.33, R = -0.31); however, life satisfaction accounted for occupational gaps both for persons with stroke and for caregivers. A greater number of occupational gaps were perceived in the dyads with combined low levels of life satisfaction compared with those with combined high levels of life satisfaction. Participation in everyday occupations is related to life satisfaction even for caregivers of persons with stroke. The results of this study add to our knowledge about the stroke-caregiver dyad and will help to inform family-centred approaches within stroke rehabilitation.

Validity and reliability of Spanish versions of the Ruminative Responses Scale-Short Form and the Distraction Responses Scale in a sample of Spanish high school and college students.

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Extremera, Natalio; Fernández-Berrocal, Pablo

2006-02-01

This study investigated the construct validity and reliability of the Spanish Ruminative Responses Scale-Short From, and the Distraction Responses Scale of the Response Styles Questionnaire for a sample of 727 Spanish high school and college students who responded anonymously and voluntarily to a questionnaire (293 men, 434 women; ages 16 to 29 years, M=18.8, SD=3.0). In addition to the above scales, the questionnaire included the Spanish forms of the Beck Depression Inventory, the Trait Anxiety Scale from the State-Trait Anxiety Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. The internal consistency of the scales was satisfactory (Cronbach alpha=.86 for the Ruminative Responses Scale and .78 for the Distraction Responses Scale). As expected, scores on the Spanish Ruminative Responses Scale showed positive correlations with those on the Beck Depression Inventory and the Trait Anxiety Scale and negative associations with the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Subjective Happiness Scale. Conversely, the Spanish Distraction Responses Scale was negatively correlated with the Beck Depression Inventory and positively associated with the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Subjective Happiness Scale. These results provide evidence of appropriate reliability for research purposes. Furthermore, the correlational analysis supported prior findings that ruminative response and distraction response styles are differentially associated with reported depressed and positive moods.

Life Cycle Assessment of Biogas Production in Small-scale Household Digesters in Vietnam

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T. K. V. Vu

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Small-scale household digesters have been promoted across Asia as a sustainable way of handling manure. The major advantages are that they produce biogas and reduce odor. However their disadvantages include the low recycling of nutrients, because digestate is dilute and therefore difficult to transport, and the loss of biogas as a result of cracks and the intentional release of excess biogas. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA methodology was used to assess the environmental impacts associated with biogas digesters in Vietnam. Handling 1,000 kg of liquid manure and 100 kg of solid manure in a system with a biogas digester reduced the impact potential from 4.4 kg carbon dioxide (CO2 equivalents to 3.2 kg CO2 equivalents compared with traditional manure management. However, this advantage could easily be compromised if digester construction is considered in the LCA or in situations where there is an excess of biogas which is intentionally released. A sensitivity analysis showed that biogas digesters could be a means of reducing global warming if methane emissions can be kept low. In terms of eutrophication, farms with biogas digesters had 3 to 4 times greater impacts. In order to make biogas digesters sustainable, methods for recycling digestates are urgently required.

Development and validation of the coronary heart disease scale under the system of quality of life instruments for chronic diseases QLICD-CHD: combinations of classical test theory and Generalizability Theory.

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Wan, Chonghua; Li, Hezhan; Fan, Xuejin; Yang, Ruixue; Pan, Jiahua; Chen, Wenru; Zhao, Rong

2014-06-04

Quality of life (QOL) for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) is now concerned worldwide with the specific instruments being seldom and no one developed by the modular approach. This paper is aimed to develop the CHD scale of the system of Quality of Life Instruments for Chronic Diseases (QLICD-CHD) by the modular approach and validate it by both classical test theory and Generalizability Theory. The QLICD-CHD was developed based on programmed decision procedures with multiple nominal and focus group discussions, in-depth interview, pre-testing and quantitative statistical procedures. 146 inpatients with CHD were used to provide the data measuring QOL three times before and after treatments. The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated with respect to validity, reliability and responsiveness employing correlation analysis, factor analyses, multi-trait scaling analysis, t-tests and also G studies and D studies of Genralizability Theory analysis. Multi-trait scaling analysis, correlation and factor analyses confirmed good construct validity and criterion-related validity when using SF-36 as a criterion. The internal consistency α and test-retest reliability coefficients (Pearson r and Intra-class correlations ICC) for the overall instrument and all domains were higher than 0.70 and 0.80 respectively; The overall and all domains except for social domain had statistically significant changes after treatments with moderate effect size SRM (standardized response mea) ranging from 0.32 to 0.67. G-coefficients and index of dependability (Ф coefficients) confirmed the reliability of the scale further with more exact variance components. The QLICD-CHD has good validity, reliability, and moderate responsiveness and some highlights, and can be used as the quality of life instrument for patients with CHD. However, in order to obtain better reliability, the numbers of items for social domain should be increased or the items' quality, not quantity, should be

Preliminary psychometric properties of the chinese version of the work-related quality of life scale-2 in the nursing profession.

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Lin, Shike; Chaiear, Naesinee; Khiewyoo, Jiraporn; Wu, Bin; Johns, Nutjaree Pratheepawanit

2013-03-01

As quality of work-life (QWL) among nurses affects both patient care and institutional standards, assessment regarding QWL for the profession is important. Work-related Quality of Life Scale (WRQOLS) is a reliable QWL assessment tool for the nursing profession. To develop a Chinese version of the WRQOLS-2 and to examine its psychometric properties as an instrument to assess QWL for the nursing profession in China. Forward and back translating procedures were used to develop the Chinese version of WRQOLS-2. Six nursing experts participated in content validity evaluation and 352 registered nurses (RNs) participated in the tests. After a two-week interval, 70 of the RNs were retested. Structural validity was examined by principal components analysis and the Cronbach's alphas calculated. The respective independent sample t-test and intra-class correlation coefficient were used to analyze known-group validity and test-retest reliability. One item was rephrased for adaptation to Chinese organizational cultures. The content validity index of the scale was 0.98. Principal components analysis resulted in a seven-factor model, accounting for 62% of total variance, with Cronbach's alphas for subscales ranging from 0.71 to 0.88. Known-group validity was established in the assessment results of the participants in permanent employment vs. contract employment (t = 2.895, p < 0.01). Good test-retest reliability was observed (r = 0.88, p < 0.01). The translated Chinese version of the WRQOLS-2 has sufficient validity and reliability so that it can be used to evaluate the QWL among nurses in mainland China.

Dish/Stirling Hybrid-Receiver Sub-Scale Tests and Full-Scale Design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andraka, Charles; Bohn, Mark S.; Corey, John; Mehos, Mark; Moreno, James; Rawlinson, Scott

1999-01-01

We have designed and tested a prototype dish/Stirling hybrid-receiver combustion system. The system consists of a pre-mixed natural-gas burner heating a pin-finned sodium heat pipe. The design emphasizes simplicity, low cost, and ruggedness. Our test was on a 1/6 th -scale device, with a nominal firing rate of 18kWt, a power throughput of 13kWt, and a sodium vapor temperature of 750 ampersand deg;C. The air/fuel mixture was electrically preheated to 640 ampersand deg;C to simulate recuperation. The test rig was instrumented for temperatures, pressures, flow rates, overall leak rate, and exhaust emissions. The data verify our burner and heat-transfer models. Performance and post-test examinations validate our choice of materials and fabrication methods. Based on the 1/6 th -scale results, we are designing a till-scale hybrid receiver. This is a fully-integrated system, including burner, pin-fin primary heat exchanger, recuperator (in place of the electrical pre-heater used in the prototype system), solar absorber, and sodium heat pipe. The major challenges of the design are to avoid pre-ignition, achieve robust heat-pipe performance, and attain long life of the burner matrix, recuperator, and flue-gas seals. We have used computational fluid dynamics extensively in designing to avoid pre-ignition and for designing the heat-pipe wick, and we have used individual component tests and results of the 1/6 th -scale test to optimize for long life. In this paper, we present our design philosophy and basic details of our design. We describe the sub-scale test rig and compare test results with predictions. Finally, we outline the evolution of our full-scale design, and present its current status

STRUCTURE AND VALIDATION OF A CONTEXTUAL QUALITY OF LIFE SCALE FOR PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES IN SOCIAL SERVICES: AN ORGANIZATION-ORIENTED MEASURE FROM AN EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVE

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Carolina Moliner

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to develop and validate a scale on the Quality of Life (QoL of people with intellectual disabilities as assessed by family members (external perspective. The instrument measures improvement in QoL due to actions by organizations delivering services to individuals with intellectual disabilities (organization-oriented measure. In order to design the items for the scale, focus groups were set up with professionals dedicated to attending to individuals with intellectual disabilities. An initial scale of 20 items was constructed by consensus. A total of 1195 family members answered the questionnaire. In order to assess the structure of the scale, EFA recommended deleting 3 overlapping items. The final scale consisted of 17 items (α=95 and was composed of four main dimensions: self-determination (SD, social inclusion (SI, rights (RI and overall improvement (OI, which explained 74.83% of the variance. Finally, the consistency and validity were assessed. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were satisfactory. Moreover, CFA confirmed the structure of the scale. Main conclusions, limitations and practical implications are discussed.

Performance of the Life Insurance Industry Under Pressure : Efficiency, Competition, and Consolidation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bikker, Jacob A.

2016-01-01

This article investigates efficiency and competition in the Dutch life insurance market by estimating unused scale economies and measuring efficiency-market share dynamics during 1995-2010. Large unused scale economies exist for small- and medium-sized life insurers, indicating that further

The watershed-scale optimized and rearranged landscape design (WORLD) model and local biomass processing depots for sustainable biofuel production: Integrated life cycle assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eranki, Pragnya L.; Manowitz, David H.; Bals, Bryan D.; Izaurralde, Roberto C.; Kim, Seungdo; Dale, Bruce E.

2013-07-23

An array of feedstock is being evaluated as potential raw material for cellulosic biofuel production. Thorough assessments are required in regional landscape settings before these feedstocks can be cultivated and sustainable management practices can be implemented. On the processing side, a potential solution to the logistical challenges of large biorefi neries is provided by a network of distributed processing facilities called local biomass processing depots. A large-scale cellulosic ethanol industry is likely to emerge soon in the United States. We have the opportunity to influence the sustainability of this emerging industry. The watershed-scale optimized and rearranged landscape design (WORLD) model estimates land allocations for different cellulosic feedstocks at biorefinery scale without displacing current animal nutrition requirements. This model also incorporates a network of the aforementioned depots. An integrated life cycle assessment is then conducted over the unified system of optimized feedstock production, processing, and associated transport operations to evaluate net energy yields (NEYs) and environmental impacts.

Work-Life Balance and gender differences in middle level managers in India

OpenAIRE

Bhatia, Yogeeta; Srilatha, S

2015-01-01

Studies on work-life balance (WLB) in India and South East Asian countries have mostly used western scales for evaluating work/life conflict and work/life balance. This research used an Indian questionnaire to look at WLB and gender differences in Indian perspective. 24 item scale developed by Singh (2014), was used in this study for assessing WLB in middle level managers in India. Findings suggested significant difference between men and women, in work spillover in personal life and personal...

Health and life satisfaction for Chinese gay men 
in Guangzhou, China.

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Yu, Yong; Xiao, Shuiyuan

2017-12-28

To understand Chinese gay men's health and life satisfaction in Guanzhou, and to analyze the main factors for life satisfaction.
 Methods: Male gay participants were recruited through respondent-driven sampling and face-to-face investigations with self-administered questionnaires, including a general demographic questionnaire, a suicide questionnaire, the Depression-Anxiety Stress Scale, the Self-Stigma Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale.
 Results: Surveys were successfully conducted for 420 gay men. High levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were observed among the respondents. A total of 29.3% had suicidal tendency in the past year, 36.5% experienced dating violence, 39.2% had homosexual sex without protection in the past 6 months, and 14.0% were infected with at least one type of infection of sexually transmitted diseases. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that gay men who felt highly satisfied with life exhibited low levels of self-stigma, high self-esteem, and low levels of depression. Moreover, they did not suffer dating violence and playing passive sex roles.
 Conclusion: The survey confirmed that gay men in Guangzhou, China, have poor health and lower life satisfaction levels. Self-stigma, self-esteem, sex roles, depression, and dating violence are the main factors that influence the life satisfaction of them.

College Experience Scale (EExU

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Angélica Juárez

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The experience of being a university student (University Experiences had been poorly studied so far. However, research in this field can provide valuable information about the quality of academic life, wellbeing or stress in this population. There is a lack of psychological tests that explore this theoretical construct. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a scale for measuring Univeristy Experiences, for that reason 314 college students were invited to participate for the validation. This students coursed different careers and reported 20 years old as average age. The University Experiences Scale (EExU has adequate psychometric properties. It has a structure of four factors: experience satisfaction, support perception, experience perception and life style adjustment. This factors explain 43.1% of the variance. The grouping of the factors of the College Experience Scale concurs with data reported in the literature about such concept, however this is the first questionnaire designed for measuring it. We anticipate that future studies will seek to verify the performance of the scale in different populations of students and analyze its psychometric properties and its possible association with other psychological variables that affect college students and their health.

Life Satisfaction and Family Structure among Adolescents in Hong Kong

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Kwan, Ying-Keung

2008-01-01

Relationships between family structure and perceived life satisfaction in overall life and five domains of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale, family life, friendships, school experience, myself, and where I live were examined among 4,502 Chinese adolescent secondary school students in Hong Kong. Bivariate analyses showed…

Hopelessness, Depression and Life Satisfaction Among The Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

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Güler Duru Aşiret

2014-03-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out to determine the level of hopelessness, depression, and life satisfaction among patients with multiple sclerosis. METHODS: 65 patients with multiple sclerosis, treated at the neurology clinic of a university hospital, were included in this study. In this descriptive study, a data collection form developed by the researchers, the Beck Depression Scale, and the Beck Hopelessness and Life Satisfaction Scale were used. RESULTS: Almost half (43.1% of the patients exhibited severe depressive symptoms. Patients’ hopelessness and life satisfaction levels were moderate. The scores on depression and life satisfaction scales were correlated negatively. While patients’ traits including female gender, low economic level, difficulties in walking, and fatigue were associated with reduced life satisfaction; variables such as having a child, low economic and education levels, experiencing incontinence, and fatigue were related to a higher level of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: The majority of patients were depressed; life satisfaction and hopelessness levels were moderate. Linear regression analysis revealed that education and emotional problems determined 42% of the depression score; and economic level and emotional problems identified 32% of the life satisfaction score

Solid Propulsion Systems, Subsystems, and Components Service Life Extension

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Hundley, Nedra H.; Jones, Connor

2011-01-01

The service life extension of solid propulsion systems, subsystems, and components will be discussed based on the service life extension of the Space Transportation System Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) and Booster Separation Motors (BSM). The RSRM is certified for an age life of five years. In the aftermath of the Columbia accident there were a number of motors that were approaching the end of their five year service life certification. The RSRM Project initiated an assessment to determine if the service life of these motors could be extended. With the advent of the Constellation Program, a flight test was proposed that would utilize one of the RSRMs which had been returned from the launch site due to the expiration of its five year service life certification and twelve surplus Chemical Systems Division BSMs which had exceeded their eight year service life. The RSRM age life tracking philosophy which establishes when the clock starts for age life tracking will be described. The role of the following activities in service life extension will be discussed: subscale testing, accelerated aging, dissecting full scale aged hardware, static testing full scale aged motors, data mining industry data, and using the fleet leader approach. The service life certification and extension of the BSMs will also be presented.

Evaluating the quality of life of people with profound and multiple disabilities: Use of the San Martín Scale at the Obra San Martín Foundation

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Irene Hierro Zorrilla

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The San Martín Scale is an instrument used to measure the quality of life of people with significant disabilities with adequate levels reliability and validity. In 2012, the San Martín Scale was administered to 85 adults with intellectual disabilities who were provided supports at Obra San Martin Foundation (Santander. In this article, we describe the results obtained at the mesosystem level, an example at the microsystem level, and future areas of work identified from the results.

An Investigation of Materialism and Life Satisfaction

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Afreen Faiza

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The collectivistic culture of Pakistan is perforating with hedonic, modern and lavishing values. People are becoming more concerned with material aspirations and accumulation of wealth. The aim of present study is to investigate the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction among Pakistani individuals. A sample of (N=104 Muslim individuals were recruited through random sampling technique from different areas of Karachi city. Their age ranged from 16-46 years (M= 1.60, S.D=.854. The individuals were administered Richins Material values scale (2004 and Diener et al. the Satisfaction with Life Scale (1985. A significant positive relationship was obtained between materialism and life satisfaction (r=.273, p< .01. The future implementation of strategies for promotion of wellbeing of Pakistani individuals is discussed in the light of findings of present study.

Data replicating the factor structure and reliability of commonly used measures of resilience: The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, Resilience Scale, and Scale of Protective Factors

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A.N. Madewell

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The data presented in this article are related to the article entitled “Assessing Resilience in Emerging Adulthood: The Resilience Scale (RS, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC, and Scale of Protective Factors (SPF” (Madewell and Ponce-Garcia, 2016 [1]. The data were collected from a sample of 451 college students from three universities located in the Southwestern region of the United States: 374 from a large public university and 67 from two smaller regional universities. The data from the three universities did not significantly differ in terms of demographics. The data represent participant responses on six measurements to include the Resilience Scale-25 (RS-25, Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale-25 (CD-RISC-25, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10, Scale of Protective Factors-24 (SPF-24, and the Life Stressor Checklist Revised (LSC-R. Keywords: Scale of Protective Factors, Resilience Scale, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, Emerging adulthood, Confirmatory factor analysis

[Design and validation of a satisfaction and quality of life scale for users of residential and social care centres].

Science.gov (United States)

Literas, Luciano; Navarro, Albert; Fontanals, María Dulce

2010-01-01

In a comprehensive approach to ageing care, the promotion of personal and emotional well-being is fundamental, as well as the development of tools to evaluate outcomes. This approach needs to take into account the subjective perception of the elderly by gathering evidence using indicators that express impacts and satisfaction. Thus, the SAR Foundation's Satisfaction and Quality of Life Scale (SyCV-FSAR) has been developed and validated to assess well-being in residential care settings. Bibliographical reviews, interviews and focal groups with professionals (doctors, nurses, social workers, quality managers, etc.) were conducted to define the questionnaire that was first piloted and then applied in a final survey. Test of validity was carried out by factorial analysis (FA), principal axis factoring and Oblimin rotation. The sampling adequacy was measured by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test and Bartlett's sphericity. Test of reliability was carried out by internal consistency analysis (Cronbach's alpha). A total of 475 users took part in the survey, 69.1% of those who fulfilled the criteria. Of these 60.0% were women, an average age 82.1, 47.2% of them between 75 and 84 years old, with a MMSE of 27. The FA identified three factors ("Residential service and geriatric care", "Personal framework" and "Social relationships") that explained 27.5% of the total variability. The measure of sampling adequacy by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test was 0.80, and the Bartlett's sphericity test was significant (P<0.001). The global α Cronbach was 0.82. According to the results obtained in the study we can conclude that the SyCV-FSAR Scale is a reliable, simple and easy-to-apply tool, which gathers the users' perception on key aspects of daily life in residential and social care centres. Copyright © 2009 SEGG. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Life as an emergent phenomenon: studies from a large-scale boid simulation and web data

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Ikegami, Takashi; Mototake, Yoh-ichi; Kobori, Shintaro; Oka, Mizuki; Hashimoto, Yasuhiro

2017-11-01

A large group with a special structure can become the mother of emergence. We discuss this hypothesis in relation to large-scale boid simulations and web data. In the boid swarm simulations, the nucleation, organization and collapse dynamics were found to be more diverse in larger flocks than in smaller flocks. In the second analysis, large web data, consisting of shared photos with descriptive tags, tended to group together users with similar tendencies, allowing the network to develop a core-periphery structure. We show that the generation rate of novel tags and their usage frequencies are high in the higher-order cliques. In this case, novelty is not considered to arise randomly; rather, it is generated as a result of a large and structured network. We contextualize these results in terms of adjacent possible theory and as a new way to understand collective intelligence. We argue that excessive information and material flow can become a source of innovation. This article is part of the themed issue 'Reconceptualizing the origins of life'.

Investigating the Mediator role of Social Safeness on the Relationship between Forgiveness and Life Satisfaction

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Umran Akin

Full Text Available The aim of the present study is to examine the mediating effect of social safeness on the relationship between forgiveness and life satisfaction. Participants were 311 university students who completed a questionnaire package that included the Trait Forgiveness Scale, the Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale. According to the results, social safeness and life satisfaction were predicted positively by forgiveness. On the other hand, life satisfaction was predicted positively by social safeness. In addition, social safeness mediated on the relationship between forgiveness and life satisfaction. The results were discussed in the light of the related literature and dependent recommendations to the area were given.

Which clinical variable influences health-related quality of life the most after spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage? Hunt and Hess scale, Fisher score, World Federation of Neurosurgeons score, Brussels coma score, and Glasgow coma score compared.

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Kapapa, Thomas; Tjahjadi, Martin; König, Ralph; Wirtz, Christian Rainer; Woischneck, Dieter

2013-12-01

To determine the strength of the correlation between the Hunt and Hess scale, Fisher score, Brussels coma score, World Federation of Neurosurgeons score, and Glasgow coma score and health-related quality of life. Evaluable questionnaires from 236 patients (5.6 years [± standard deviation, 2.854 years] on average after hemorrhage) were included in the analysis. Quality of life was documented using the MOS-36 item short form health survey. Because of the ordinal nature of the variables, Kendall tau was used for calculation. Significance was established as P ≤ 0.05. Weak and very weak correlations were found in general (r ≤ 0.28). The strongest correlations were found between the Glasgow coma score and quality of life (r = 0.236, P = 0.0001). In particular, the "best verbal response" achieved the strongest correlations in the comparison, at r = 0.28/P = 0.0001. The Fisher score showed very weak correlations (r = -0.148/P = 0.012). The Brussels coma score (r = -0.216/P = 0.0001), Hunt and Hess scale (r = -0.197/P = 0.0001), and the World Federation of Neurosurgeons score (r = -0.185/P = 0.0001) revealed stronger correlations, especially in terms of the physical aspects of quality of life. The Glasgow coma scale revealed the strongest, and the Fisher score showed the weakest correlations. Thus the Fisher score, as an indicator of the severity of a hemorrhage, has little significance in terms of health-related quality of life. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Life satisfaction in people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Karatzias, Thanos; Chouliara, Zoë; Power, Kevin; Brown, Keith; Begum, Millia; McGoldrick, Therese; MacLean, Rory

2013-12-01

There is limited research on the association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and life satisfaction in community samples. We set out to investigate levels of life satisfaction and its demographic, trauma related and clinical predictors in a sample of people with PTSD (n = 46). Participants completed a battery of standardised self-report measures including Satisfaction with Life Scale, the PTSD Checklist and The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Our results indicated that people with moderately severe PTSD in the community are likely to experience lower levels of life satisfaction compared with those with other psychiatric conditions or those without any diagnoses. Multivariate analysis revealed that marital status and trauma symptoms were the only significant predictors of life satisfaction. In specific, being married and presenting with less severe posttraumatic symptomatology were both significantly associated with higher levels of life satisfaction in people with PTSD. The strong association between traumatic symptomatology and life satisfaction may indicate that routine assessment for life satisfaction or similar positive constructs in people with PTSD, referred for psychological therapies might be useful. Information on positive psychology constructs may facilitate capitalising on clients' strengths and not just on pathology.

Quality of life in old patients with proximal femoral fractures

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T A Raskina

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: to study quality of life in Kemerovo old patients with proximal femoral fractures. Patients and methods. Quality of life in osteoporotic fractures was analyzed in 219 patients (173 women and 46 men who had sustained the injury in January 2004 to December 2008. Results. In the patients with hip fractures, the lowest (41.94+31.16 scores values were recorded by the physical functioning scale reflecting the degree to which their health limited the performance of physical exercises (self-service, walking, going upstairs, weight carriage, etc.. The role functioning and life activity scales showed the highest values (50.96+19.04 and 51.44+26.51 scores, respectively. The mean value of the physical component scale was 46.42+28.26 scores. That of the psychological component scale was 49.56+19.55 scores. Conclusion. The patients with proximal femoral fractures were found to have lower scores on all SF-36 dimensions.

[Life satisfaction and related socio-demographic factors during female midlife].

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Cuadros, José Luis; Pérez-Roncero, Gonzalo R; López-Baena, María Teresa; Cuadros-Celorrio, Angela M; Fernández-Alonso, Ana María

2014-01-01

To assess life satisfaction and related factors in middle-aged Spanish women. This was a cross-sectional study including 235 women aged 40 to 65, living in Granada (Spain), healthy companions of patients visiting the obstetrics and gynecology clinics. They completed the Diener Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Menopause Rating Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index and a sociodemographic questionnaire containing personal and partner data. Internal consistency of each tool was also calculated. Almost two-thirds (61.3%) of the women were postmenopausal, and 43.8% had abdominal obesity, 36.6% had insomnia, 18.7% had poor menopause-related quality of life, 31.9% performed regular exercise, and 5.1% had severe financial problems. Life satisfaction showed significant positive correlations (Spearman's test) with female and male age, and inverse correlations with menopause-related quality of life, perceived stress and insomnia. In the multiple linear regression analysis, high life satisfaction is positively correlated with having a partner who performed exercise, and inversely with having work problems, perceived stress and the suspicion of partner infidelity. These factors explained 40% of the variance of the multiple regression analysis for life satisfaction in middle-aged women. Life satisfaction is a construct related to perceived stress, work problems, and having a partner, while aspects of menopause and general health had no significant influence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Facial Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgeries on Patients' Quality of Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Yıldız, Tülin; Selimen, Deniz

2015-12-01

The aim of the present prospective and descriptive study was to assess the impact of facial aesthetic and reconstructive surgeries on quality of life. Ninety-one patients, of whom 43 had aesthetic surgery and 48 had reconstructive surgery, were analysed. The data were collected using the patient information form, body cathexis scale, and short form (SF)-36 quality of life scale. There were significant differences between before and after the surgery in both groups in terms of body cathexis scale and quality of life (p aesthetic and reconstructive surgery patients before the surgery. However, the problems were decreased, and the quality of life was enhanced after the surgery. Among the parameters of SF-36 quality of life scale, particularly the mean scores of social functioning, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, mental health, and vitality/fatigue were found low before the surgery, whereas the mean scores were significantly improved after the surgery. The results revealed that facial aesthetic and reconstructive surgical interventions favourably affected the body image perception and self-esteem and that positive reflections in emotional, social, and mental aspects were effective in enhancing self-confidence and quality of life of the individual.

Sociodemographic determinants of quality of life among patients ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Diagnosis of depression as well as severity of depression were assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview questionnaire and Hamilton Rating Scale for depression respectively. Quality of life measures was assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOLBREF).

Assessing quality of life in young adult cancer survivors: development of the Survivorship-Related Quality of Life scale.

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Park, Crystal L; Wortmann, Jennifer H; Hale, Amy E; Cho, Dalnim; Blank, Thomas O

2014-10-01

Scientific advances in treatments and outcomes for those diagnosed with cancer in late adolescence and early adulthood depend, in part, on the availability of adequate assessment tools to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for survivors in this age group. Domains especially relevant to late adolescence and young adulthood (LAYA; e.g., education and career, committed romantic relationships, worldview formation) are typically overlooked in studies assessing the impact of cancer, usually more appropriate for middle-aged or older survivors. Current HRQOL measures also tend to assess issues that are salient during or shortly after treatment rather than reflecting life years after treatment. To develop a new measure to better capture the experience of LAYA cancer survivors in longer-term survivorship (the LAYA Survivorship-Related Quality of Life measure, LAYA-SRQL), we completed an extensive measure development process. After a literature review and focus groups with LAYA cancer survivors, we generated items and ran confirmatory factor and reliability analyses using a sample of 292 LAYA cancer survivors. We then examined validity using existing measures of physical and mental health, quality of life, and impact of cancer. The final model consisted of two domains (satisfaction and impact), each consisting of ten factors: existential/spirituality, coping, relationship, dependence, vitality, health care, education/career, fertility, intimacy/sexuality, and cognition/memory. Confirmatory factor analysis and validity analyses indicated that the LAYA-SRQL is a psychometrically sound instrument with good validity. The LAYA-SRQL fills an important need in survivorship research, providing a way to assess HRQOL in LAYAs in a developmentally informed way.

Validation of the Chinese version of functional assessment of anorexia-cachexia therapy (FAACT) scale for measuring quality of life in cancer patients with cachexia.

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Zhou, Ting; Yang, Kaixiang; Thapa, Sudip; Fu, Qiang; Jiang, Yongsheng; Yu, Shiying

2017-04-01

The assessment of quality of life (QOL) is an important part of cachexia management for cancer patients. Functional assessment of anorexia-cachexia therapy (FAACT), a specific QOL instrument for cachexia patients, has not been validated in Chinese population. The aim of this study was to validate the FAACT scale in Chinese cancer patients for its future use. Eligible cancer patients were included in our study. Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics were collected from the electronic medical records. Patients were asked to complete the Chinese version of FAACT scale and the MD Anderson symptom inventory (MDASI), and then the reliability and validity were analyzed. A total of 285 patients were enrolled in our study, data of 241 patients were evaluated. Coefficients of Cronbach's alpha, test-retest and split-half analyses were all greater than 0.8, which indicated an excellent reliability for FAACT scale. In item-subscale correlation analysis and factor analysis, good construct validity for FAACT scale was found. The correlation between FAACT and MDASI interference subscale showed reasonable criterion-related validity, and for further clinical validation, the FAACT scale showed excellent discriminative validity for distinguishing patients in different cachexia status and in different performance status. The Chinese version of FAACT scale has good reliability and validity and is suitable for measuring QOL of cachexia patients in Chinese population.

Beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, volunteering behavior, and purpose in life among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

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Law, Ben M F; Shek, Daniel T L

2009-09-01

The relationships among beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, volunteering behavior, and purpose in life were examined in this study. A total of 5,946 participants completed a series of scales, including the Revised Personal Functions of Volunteerism Scale, Volunteering Intention Scale, and Purpose in Life Scale. The results showed that participants whose purpose in life had different levels also had varied prosocial beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, and volunteering behavior. Purpose in life was associated more strongly with prosocial value function than with other types of beliefs (except understanding function). When different beliefs are grouped, the correlation between purpose in life and other-serving beliefs was higher than that between purpose in life and self-serving beliefs. Purpose in life was also associated with volunteering intention and behavior. Path analyses showed that purpose in life predicted volunteering behavior via beliefs and intention. While other-serving beliefs predicted volunteering behavior directly, self-serving beliefs did not have such direct effect.

Beliefs about Volunteerism, Volunteering Intention, Volunteering Behavior, and Purpose in Life among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

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Ben M. F. Law

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The relationships among beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, volunteering behavior, and purpose in life were examined in this study. A total of 5,946 participants completed a series of scales, including the Revised Personal Functions of Volunteerism Scale, Volunteering Intention Scale, and Purpose in Life Scale. The results showed that participants whose purpose in life had different levels also had varied prosocial beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, and volunteering behavior. Purpose in life was associated more strongly with prosocial value function than with other types of beliefs (except understanding function. When different beliefs are grouped, the correlation between purpose in life and other-serving beliefs was higher than that between purpose in life and self-serving beliefs. Purpose in life was also associated with volunteering intention and behavior. Path analyses showed that purpose in life predicted volunteering behavior via beliefs and intention. While other-serving beliefs predicted volunteering behavior directly, self-serving beliefs did not have such direct effect.

Satisfaction with life after rectal prolapse surgery.

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Winiarski, Michał; Jóźwiak, Daria; Pusty, Michal; Dziki, Adam

2013-01-01

Assessment of satisfaction with life, as a result of comparing own life situation with the individualised personal standards, is an important element for measuring satisfaction with life of the patients suffering from somatic disorders. Literature provides numerous data on satisfaction with life of different groups of patients suffering from somatic disorders. Little space is devoted to the study of the level of satisfaction of patients with rectal prolapse, which is particularly evident in relation to the Polish patient population. The aim of the study was planned to determine the level of satisfaction with life and its determinants among patients with full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery as well as to assess the improvement of continence after this surgery. The study group consisted of 20 patients operated on for full-thickness rectal prolapse in the Department of General and Colorectal Surgery, Medical University in Lódź. SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale) Diener et al. in the Polish adaptation by Juczyński was used to assess global life satisfaction. Assessment of the incontinence severity and the postoperative improvement was made with Jorge and Wexner scale. The average level of global life satisfaction among patients with rectal prolapse surgery is 21.05 (SD = 4.68) and it corresponds to the level of satisfaction of the total population. In the study group, there were no statistically significant differences in the level of global satisfaction with life depending on age, disease recurrence and continence improvement after surgery. The continence after rectal prolapse surgery improved significantly (plife satisfaction of patients operated on for rectal prolapse.

Life Satisfaction of University Students in Relation to Family and Food in a Developing Country

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Berta Schnettler

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Life satisfaction and satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL are associated with healthy eating habits, family interaction around eating and family support. The present study evaluates the relationship between SWFoL and satisfaction with family life (SWFaL, and their relationship with life satisfaction in university students. We identify the relationship of two different types of family support and student SWFaL and explore a moderator effect of gender. A questionnaire was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 370 students of both genders (mean age 21 years in Chile, including Satisfaction with Life Scale, SWFoL scale, SWFaL scale, and the Family Resources Scale. Using structural equation modeling, we found that students’ life satisfaction was related to SWFaL and food-related life. A high positive relationship was identified between intangible family support and students’ SWFaL, which would have a mediating role between intangible support and life satisfaction. Using multi-group analysis, a moderator effect of gender was not found. These findings suggest that improving SWFoL, SWFaL and intangible family support is important for both female and male students.

Life Satisfaction of University Students in Relation to Family and Food in a Developing Country

Science.gov (United States)

Schnettler, Berta; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo; Grunert, Klaus G.; Lobos, Germán; Denegri, Marianela; Hueche, Clementina; Poblete, Héctor

2017-01-01

Life satisfaction and satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL) are associated with healthy eating habits, family interaction around eating and family support. The present study evaluates the relationship between SWFoL and satisfaction with family life (SWFaL), and their relationship with life satisfaction in university students. We identify the relationship of two different types of family support and student SWFaL and explore a moderator effect of gender. A questionnaire was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 370 students of both genders (mean age 21 years) in Chile, including Satisfaction with Life Scale, SWFoL scale, SWFaL scale, and the Family Resources Scale. Using structural equation modeling, we found that students’ life satisfaction was related to SWFaL and food-related life. A high positive relationship was identified between intangible family support and students’ SWFaL, which would have a mediating role between intangible support and life satisfaction. Using multi-group analysis, a moderator effect of gender was not found. These findings suggest that improving SWFoL, SWFaL and intangible family support is important for both female and male students. PMID:28932203

Effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of older adults.

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Yilmaz, Fikriye; N Tekin, Rukiye

2018-01-01

Few studies on the effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of adults have been conducted in Turkey. We aimed to investigate the effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of older adults. We administered a questionnaire to 350 adults, aged 50-89 years, living in Cankaya, Ankara. The questionnaire covered sociodemographic characteristics, early life characteristics, health status, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Ageing scale. Data were analyzed using χ 2 tests, independent samples t-tests, one-way anova, and binary logistic regression analysis. The analyses showed that the most important risk factors for chronic disease were being ≥65 years (odds ratio (OR) = 2.34), having a chronic health problem before 18 years of age (OR = 2.48), experiencing prolonged hospitalization or bed rest before 18 years of age (OR = 2.65), and experiencing parental unconcern during early life (OR = 2.13) (P quality of life (P life factors are among the important determinants of the health and quality of life of older adults in Turkey. © 2017 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Determinants of subjective quality of life in first-episode schizophrenia: perspective from Malaysia.

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Chee, K Y

2010-05-01

This study sought to examine the determinants of subjective quality of life among patients with first-episode schizophrenia in a developing country. One-hundred and twenty patients registered with National Mental Health Registry for Schizophrenia from 1 January 2003 to 31 August 2005 were included. They were diagnosed with first-episode schizophrenia, schizoaffective and schizophreniform disorders and had been compliant to treatment. Sociodemographic data were obtained and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-Anchored Version, Health of The Nation Outcome Scales, Simpson-Angus Extrapyramidal Side Effects Scale, Barnes Akathisia Scale and the World Health Organization Quality of Life were used to assess psychopathology, side effects from antipsychotics and subjective quality of life. Gender, positive and disorganized symptoms of schizophrenia, and cognitive and physical impairments appeared to be the most important predictors of subjective quality of life among the patients from this centre in Malaysia. Different domains of self-rated quality of life correlated with different sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Some of the characteristics were malleable and a better understanding of these could lead to improvements in the management of patients with schizophrenia.

Relationship of Life Satisfaction and Job Satisfaction among Pakistani Army Soldiers

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Summaira Naz

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The present study had two main objectives; first, to discover the relationships between job satisfaction and life satisfaction in Pakistani army soldiers, second, to find out the age, salary, marital status, and education differences on job satisfaction and life satisfaction in Pakistani army soldiers. In the present study two questionnaires; Job Satisfaction Scale JSS (Macdonald & Maclntyre, 1997 and Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, et al., 1985; were administered to a sample (N=400 along with a demographic sheet. The results of the study revealed a significant positive correlation between job satisfaction and life satisfaction of Pakistani army soldiers. The findings of the study also showed a significant age, education, salary, and marital status differences in job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Age, marital status, and salary variables had positive correlation with job satisfaction and life satisfaction but education had a negative association with job satisfaction and life satisfaction

Student Academic Support as a Predictor of Life Satisfaction in University Students

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Akin, Ahmet; Arslan, Serhat; Çelik, Eyüp; Kaya, Çinar; Arslan, Nihan

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Academic Support and Life Satisfaction. Participants were 458 university students who voluntarily filled out a package of self-report instruments. Student Academic Support Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale were used as measures. The relationships between student academic support…

Adaptation of the Recent Life Changes Questionnaire (RLCQ) to measure stressful life events in adults residing in an urban megapolis in Pakistan.

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Artani, Azmina; Bhamani, Shireen Shehzad; Azam, Iqbal; AbdulSultan, Moiz; Khoja, Adeel; Kamal, Ayeesha K

2017-05-05

Contextually relevant stressful life events are integral to the quantification of stress. None such measures have been adapted for the Pakistani population. The RLCQ developed by Richard Rahe measures stress of an individual through recording the experience of life changing events. We used qualitative methodology in order to identify contextually relevant stressors in an open ended format, using serial in-depth interviews until thematic saturation of reported stressful life events was achieved. In our next phase of adaptation, our objective was to scale each item on the questionnaire, so as to weigh each of these identified events, in terms of severity of stress. This scaling exercise was performed on 200 random participants residing in the four communities of Karachi namely Kharadar, Dhorajee, Gulshan and Garden. For analysis of the scaled tool, exploratory factor analysis was used to inform structuring. Finally, to complete the process of adaption, content and face validity exercises were performed. Content validity by subject expert review and face validity was performed by translation and back translation of the adapted RLCQ. This yielded our final adapted tool. Stressful life events emerging from the qualitative phase of the study reflect daily life stressors arising from the unstable socio-political environment. Some such events were public harassment, robbery/theft, missed life opportunities due to nepotism, extortion and threats, being a victim of state sponsored brutality, lack of electricity, water, sanitation, fuel, destruction due to natural disasters and direct or media based exposure to suicide bombing in the city. Personal or societal based relevant stressors included male child preference, having an unmarried middle aged daughter, lack of empowerment and respect reported by females. The finally adapted RLCQ incorporated "Environmental Stress" as a new category. The processes of qualitative methodology, in depth interview, community based scaling and

Micro-scale environment and mental health in later life: Results from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II (CFAS II).

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Wu, Yu-Tzu; Prina, A Matthew; Jones, Andy; Barnes, Linda E; Matthews, Fiona E; Brayne, Carol

2017-08-15

Poor micro-scale environmental features, such as graffiti and broken windows, have been associated with crime and signs of social disorder with a potential impact on mental health. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between micro-scale environment and mental health problems in later life, including cognitive (cognitive impairment and dementia) and common mental disorders (depressive and anxiety symptoms). The method of visual image audits was used to collect micro-scale environmental data for 3590 participants in the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II, a population-based multicentre cohort of people aged 65 or above in England. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the associations between the quality of micro-scale environment and mental health problems taking into account urban/rural difference. Poor quality of micro-scale environment was associated with nearly 20% increased odds of depressive (OR: 1.19; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.44) and anxiety symptoms (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.38) while the direction of association for cognitive disorders differed across urban and rural settings. Although higher odds of cognitive disorders were found in rural settings, living in a poor quality environment was associated with nearly twice higher odds of cognitive impairment (OR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.18, 2.97) in urban conurbations but 20% lower odds in rural areas (OR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.57, 1.11). The causal direction could not be fully determined due to the cross-sectional nature of the data. The visual nature of the environmental assessment tool means it likely does not fully capture features related to the availability of local support services, or opportunities for social participation and interaction. The quality of micro-scale environment appears to be important to mental health in older people. Interventions may incorporate the environmental aspect to reduce cognitive and common mental disorders. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by

Linking Concurrent Self-Reports and Retrospective Proxy Reports About the Last Year of Life: A Prevailing Picture of Life Satisfaction Decline

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Gerstorf, Denis; Ram, Nilam; Schupp, Jürgen; Sprangers, Mirjam A. G.; Wagner, Gert G.

2014-01-01

Objective. We examined the extent to which retrospective proxy reports of well-being mirror participant self-reports at 12–24 months before death and how proxy reports of well-being change over the last year of life. We also explored the role of sociodemographic, cognitive, and health factors of both participants and proxies in moderating such associations. Method. We used retrospective proxy ratings obtained in the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (N = 164; age at death = 19–99 years). Results. Results revealed moderate agreement between self- and proxy reports (r = .42), but proxies, on average, overestimated participants’ life satisfaction by two thirds of a scale point on a 0–10 scale (or 0.4 SD). Discrepancies were particularly pronounced when proxies themselves reported low life satisfaction. Over the last year of life, participants were viewed to have experienced declines in life satisfaction (−0.54 SD). Declines were stronger for ill participants and proxies who reported low life satisfaction. Discussion. Results qualify theoretical expectations and empirical results based on self-report data that are typically available 1 or 2 years before death. We discuss that retrospective proxy reports in panel surveys can be used as a hypothesis-generating tool to gather insights into late life. PMID:23766436

The university students’ life satisfactions: Psychological help- seeking attitude and hopelessness

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Zeynep Karataş

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This research aims to reveal to what extent university students’ attitudes towards their psychological help seeking and hopelessness predict theirlife satisfaction. Participants of the study consist of 359 university students, including 178 female and 181 male. In the research, Life Satisfaction Scale, Psychological Help- Seeking Attitude Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale and Personal Information Form were used as data collection tools. For the analyses of the research, Regression Analyses were made, and it was determined that university students’ attitudes of seeking for psychological help and their hopelessness levels significantly predicted their life satisfactions. Considering these findings, the analyses of the factors that affect university students’ life satisfactions may be instructive in determining the targets for the studies of psychological counselling

A review of quality of life studies in Nigerian patients with psychiatric ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A review of quality of life studies in Nigerian patients with psychiatric disorders. ... The concept of Quality of Life is becoming an increasingly important measure of ... Quality of Life Scale – Brief version, which is the only quality of life instrument ...

Assessing Quality of Working Life Among Malaysian Workers.

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Sulaiman, Nur Suffia; Choo, Wan Yuen; Mat Yassim, Abdul Rahim; Van Laar, Darren; Chinna, Karuthan; Majid, Hazreen Abdul

2015-11-01

The Work-Related Quality of Life Scale-2 (WRQLS-2) has been used to measure quality of working life (QOWL) in the United Kingdom. In this study, the scale was translated and normalized into Malay. The scale was translated using the back-translation method, pretesting, and pilot testing. It was conducted among health care and office workers. It was tested in 3 stages; confirmatory factor analysis at stages 1 and 3 and exploratory factor analysis at stage 2. The Malaysian WRQLS-2 had 5 factors: "General Well-Being," "Job and Career Satisfaction," "Employee Engagement," "Home-Work Interface," and "Stress at Work." The scale showed good convergent and construct validity and also reliability. Perception of good QOWL may differ because of cultural influences and varying work environments. The validated Malaysian WRQLS-2 can be used to determine the QOWL of Malaysian office and health care workers. © 2015 APJPH.

Is Extremely High Life Satisfaction during Adolescence Advantageous?

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Suldo, Shannon M.; Huebner, E. Scott

2006-01-01

This study examined whether extremely high life satisfaction was associated with adaptive functioning or maladaptive functioning. Six hundred ninety-eight secondary level students completed the Students' Life Satisfaction Scale [Huebner, 1991a, School Psychology International, 12, pp. 231-240], Youth Self-Report of the Child Behavior Checklist…

Quality of life and psychosocial aspects in Greek patients with psoriasis: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kouris, Anargyros; Christodoulou, Christos; Stefanaki, Christina; Livaditis, Miltiadis; Tsatovidou, Revekka; Kouskoukis, Constantinos; Petridis, Athanasios; Kontochristopoulos, George

2015-01-01

Psoriasis is a common, long-term skin disease associated with high levels of psychological distress and a considerable adverse impact on life. The effects of psoriasis, beyond skin affliction, are seldom recognized and often undertreated. The aim of the study is to evaluate the quality of life, anxiety and depression, self-esteem and loneliness in patients with psoriasis. Eighty-four patients with psoriasis were enrolled in the study. The quality of life, depression and anxiety, loneliness and self-esteem of the patient were assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the UCLA loneliness Scale (UCLA-Version 3) and Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, respectively. The Dermatology Quality of Life Index score among psoriasis patients was 12.61 ± 4.88. They had statistically significantly higher scores according to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale -anxiety subscale (p=0.032)-compared with healthy volunteers. Moreover, a statistically significant difference was found between the two groups concerning the UCLA-scale (p=0.033) and RSES-scale (pself-esteem than male patients. Psoriasis is a distressing, recurrent disorder that significantly impairs quality of life. Therefore, the recognition and future management of psoriasis may require the involvement of multi-disciplinary teams to manage the physical, psychological and social aspects of the condition, as is the case for systemic, long-term conditions.

Caregiver Life Satisfaction: Relationship to Youth Symptom Severity through Treatment

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Athay, M. Michele

2012-01-01

This study utilized the Satisfaction with Life Scale to investigate the life satisfaction of caregivers for youth receiving mental health services (N = 383). Specifically, this study assessed how caregiver life satisfaction relates to youth symptom severity throughout treatment. Hierarchical linear modeling with a time-varying covariate was used…

Validation of a quality-of-life instrument for patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhee, John S; Matthews, B Alex; Neuburg, Marcy; Logan, Brent R; Burzynski, Mary; Nattinger, Ann B

2006-01-01

To validate a disease-specific quality-of-life instrument--the Skin Cancer Index--intended to measure quality-of-life issues relevant to patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer. Internal reliability, convergent and divergent validity with existing scales, and factor analyses were performed in a cross-sectional study of 211 patients presenting with cervicofacial nonmelanoma skin cancer to a dermatologic surgery clinic. Factor analyses of the Skin Cancer Index confirmed a multidimensional scale with 3 distinct subscales-emotional, social, and appearance. Excellent internal validity of the 3 subscales was demonstrated. Substantial evidence was observed for convergent validity with the Dermatology Life Quality Index, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Lerman's Cancer Worry Scale, and Medical Outcomes Survey Short-Form 12 domains for vitality, emotion, social function, and mental health. These findings validate a new disease-specific quality-of-life instrument for patients with cervicofacial nonmelanoma skin cancer. Studies on the responsiveness of the Skin Cancer Index to clinical intervention are currently under way.

ON THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE LIFE REGARD INDEX (LRI) - A MEASURE OF MEANINGFUL LIFE - AN EVALUATION IN 3 INDEPENDENT SAMPLES BASED ON THE DUTCH VERSION

NARCIS (Netherlands)

DEBATS, DL; VANDERLUBBE, PM; WEZEMAN, FRA

The current study presents data on the reliability and validity of the Life Regard Index (LRI), a 28-item scale which was designed to assess positive life regard, degree of experienced meaningfulness of one's life. The theoretical LRI structure, distinguishing two dimensions framework and

The Persian Version of the "Life Satisfaction Scale": Construct Validity and Test-Re-Test Reliability among Iranian Older Adults.

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Moghadam, Manije; Salavati, Mahyar; Sahaf, Robab; Rassouli, Maryam; Moghadam, Mojgan; Kamrani, Ahmad Ali Akbari

2018-03-01

After forward-backward translation, the LSS was administered to 334 Persian speaking, cognitively healthy elderly aged 60 years and over recruited through convenience sampling. To analyze the validity of the model's constructs and the relationships between the constructs, a confirmatory factor analysis followed by PLS analysis was performed. The Construct validity was further investigated by calculating the correlations between the LSS and the "Short Form Health Survey" (SF-36) subscales measuring similar and dissimilar constructs. The LSS was re-administered to 50 participants a month later to assess the reliability. For the eight-factor model of the life satisfaction construct, adequate goodness of fit between the hypothesized model and the model derived from the sample data was attained (positive and statistically significant beta coefficients, good R-squares and acceptable GoF). Construct validity was supported by convergent and discriminant validity, and correlations between the LSS and SF-36 subscales. Minimum Intraclass Correlation Coefficient level of 0.60 was exceeded by all subscales. Minimum level of reliability indices (Cronbach's α, composite reliability and indicator reliability) was exceeded by all subscales. The Persian-version of the Life Satisfaction Scale is a reliable and valid instrument, with psychometric properties which are consistent with the original version.

Improved Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Crop Production at the Catchment Scale via a Process-Based Nitrogen Simulation Model.

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Liao, Wenjie; van der Werf, Hayo M G; Salmon-Monviola, Jordy

2015-09-15

One of the major challenges in environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of crop production is the nonlinearity between nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs and on-site N emissions resulting from complex biogeochemical processes. A few studies have addressed this nonlinearity by combining process-based N simulation models with LCA, but none accounted for nitrate (NO3(-)) flows across fields. In this study, we present a new method, TNT2-LCA, that couples the topography-based simulation of nitrogen transfer and transformation (TNT2) model with LCA, and compare the new method with a current LCA method based on a French life cycle inventory database. Application of the two methods to a case study of crop production in a catchment in France showed that, compared to the current method, TNT2-LCA allows delineation of more appropriate temporal limits when developing data for on-site N emissions associated with specific crops in this catchment. It also improves estimates of NO3(-) emissions by better consideration of agricultural practices, soil-climatic conditions, and spatial interactions of NO3(-) flows across fields, and by providing predicted crop yield. The new method presented in this study provides improved LCA of crop production at the catchment scale.

Life-history strategies associated with local population variability confer regional stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Pribil, Stanislav; Houlahan, Jeff E

2003-07-07

A widely held ecological tenet is that, at the local scale, populations of K-selected species (i.e. low fecundity, long lifespan and large body size) will be less variable than populations of r-selected species (i.e. high fecundity, short lifespan and small body size). We examined the relationship between long-term population trends and life-history attributes for 185 bird species in the Czech Republic and found that, at regional spatial scales and over moderate temporal scales (100-120 years), K-selected bird species were more likely to show both large increases and decreases in population size than r-selected species. We conclude that life-history attributes commonly associated with variable populations at the local scale, confer stability at the regional scale.

Parenting Styles and Life Satisfaction of Turkish Adolescents

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Cenkseven-Onder, Fulya

2012-01-01

This study examined adolescents' perception of satisfaction from various life domains according to gender and parenting styles among 562 Turkish adolescents [53.2% girls; Mean (M) age = 14.1, Standard Deviation (SD) = 0.85]. The participants completed the multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale and the parenting style inventory. The…

HFS-14, a Specific Quality of Life Scale Developed for Patients Suffering from Hand–Foot Syndrome

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Dalenc, Florence; Chevreau, Christine; Roché, Henri; Delord, Jean-Pierre; Mourey, Loïc; Lacaze, Jean-Louis; Rahhali, Nora; Taïeb, Charles

2011-01-01

Background. Hand–foot syndrome (HFS) is a common reaction to certain chemotherapies and new targeted therapies, impairing patient quality of life (QoL). However, there is currently no specific tool to measure QoL in patients with HFS. Objective. The objective was to develop and validate a HFS-specific QoL questionnaire (HFS-14). Patients and Methods. From a list of 31 items identified from a literature review and patient interview notes, item reduction and pilot testing by cognitive debriefing resulted in a final 14-item questionnaire with excellent internal reliability. Clinical validity was assessed in 43 patients with HFS by comparing the HFS-14 score according to HFS clinical grade based on the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE), version 3.0, and by measuring its correlation with the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Skindex-16, and short-form 12 health-related questionnaires and pain measurement. Results. The mean HFS-14 score was significantly higher in patients with clinical grade 2 and grade 3 HFS than in those with grade 1 HFS. The higher the HFS-14 score, the greater the QoL impairment. The HFS-14 score was highly correlated with the DLQI and Skindex-16 scores. In the population of patients with severe grade 3 NCI-CTCAE HFS, the HFS-14 score was significantly higher in patients having both hands and feet severely involved than in those with severe involvement of one limb (hands or feet) with the other one less severely affected. Conclusions. This scale specifically developed for patients with HFS is a valid and valuable tool for measuring HFS-related QoL impairment. PMID:21964002

The Chinese version of the Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale (MIDAS: Mokken scaling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Watson Roger

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Hierarchical scales are very useful in clinical practice due to their ability to discriminate precisely between individuals, and the original English version of the Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale has been shown to contain a hierarchy of items. The purpose of this study was to analyse a Mandarin Chinese translation of the Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale for a hierarchy of items according to the criteria of Mokken scaling. Data from 180 Chinese participants who completed the Chinese translation of the Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale were analysed using the Mokken Scaling Procedure and the 'R' statistical programme using the diagnostics available in these programmes. Correlation between Mandarin Chinese items and a Chinese translation of the Short Form (36 Health Survey was also analysed. Findings Fifteen items from the Mandarin Chinese Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale were retained in a strong and reliable Mokken scale; invariant item ordering was not evident and the Mokken scaled items of the Chinese Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale correlated with the Short Form (36 Health Survey. Conclusions Items from the Mandarin Chinese Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale form a Mokken scale and this offers further insight into how the items of the Myocardial Infarction Dimensional Assessment Scale relate to the measurement of health-related quality of life people with a myocardial infarction.

Quality of life of Malaysian children with CHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, Lai C; Teh, Ching S; Darshinee, Joyce; Omar, Asma; Ang, Hak L

2017-09-01

The objectives of this study were to compare the quality-of-life scores of Malaysian children with CHD and their healthy siblings, to determine the level of agreement between proxy-reports and child self-reports, and to examine variables that have an impact on quality of life in those with CHD. Parental-proxy scores of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 core scales were obtained for 179 children with CHD and 172 siblings. Intra-class coefficients were derived to determine the levels of proxy-child agreement in 66 children aged 8-18 years. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine factors that impacted Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory scores. Proxy scores were lower in children with CHD than siblings for all scales except physical health. Maximum differences were noted in children aged 5-7 years, whereas there were no significant differences in the 2-4 and 13-18 years age groups. Good levels of proxy-child agreement were found in children aged 8-12 years for total, psychosocial health, social, and school functioning scales (correlation coefficients 0.7-0.8). In children aged 13-18 years, the level of agreement was poor to fair for emotional and social functioning. The need for future surgery and severity of symptoms were associated with lower scores. Differences in proxy perception of quality of life appear to be age related. The level of proxy-child agreement was higher compared with other reported studies, with lower levels of agreement in teenagers. Facilitating access to surgery and optimising control of symptoms may improve quality of life in this group of children.

Factors Affecting Quality of Life and Fatigue in Gynaecologic Cancer Patients

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Güngör İ

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF is the most commonly reported and most distressing symptom in cancer patients. Health-related quality of life (QOL is an important outcome in cancer management, the authors sought to better understand its determinants. Aim: This study aims to identify quality of life and fatigue levels and the affecting factors in gynaecologic cancer patients. Method: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 154 volunteer women with gynaecologic cancer. The data were collected through the interview form, functional assessment of cancer therapy-general (FACT-G Quality of Life Scale, and Piper Fatigue Scale. Results: The mean score of total quality of life in gynaecologic cancer patients was low, 53.4 ± 15.4. Physical and emotional states were found to be the mostly affected states in the quality of life. According to the Piper Fatigue Scale, the total fatigue score was mild, 3.5 ± 2.4. Total fatigue scores were found to be high in metastatic cancers. Multivariate analyses indicate that the most important factor affecting the quality of life is economic condition, and the most important variables affecting fatigue are the level of activity and use of medicine. Conclusion: This study found that quality of life dimensions in women with gynaecologic cancer was affected by factors such as cancer type, time of diagnosis, and stage and spread of the cancer.

Development of the Contentment with Life Assessment Scale (CLAS): Using Daily Life Experiences to Verify Levels of Self-Reported Life Satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Lavallee, Loraine F.; Hatch, P. Maurine; Michalos, Alex C.; McKinley, Tara

2007-01-01

On average, Anglo-Americans report that they are satisfied with their lives, but their global evaluations tend to deviate from their daily experiences (e.g., Oishi [2002, "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin" 28(10), 1398-1406]). We explored the hypothesis that the average life satisfaction of Anglo-Americans is better characterized as…

Effects of Negative Emotions and Life Events on Women's Missed Miscarriage.

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Xing, Huilin; Luo, Yaping; Wang, Shouying

2018-02-01

To investigate the effects of negative emotions and life events on women's missed miscarriage. Overall, 214 women diagnosed with a missed miscarriage by prenatal examination from 2016-2017 in Xiamen Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Xiamen, China were selected as the observation group compared to 214 women as control group. The general data of the patients were investigated by self-programmed questionnaires. Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Center Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; Life Events Scale for Pregnant Women were used conduct the study. General data, anxiety, depression and life events were compared between the two groups of patients, and statistically different factors were included in the multivariate Logistic regression analysis. There were statistically significant differences in the educational level, pre-pregnancy health status, planned pregnancy, pre-pregnancy or gestational gynecological inflammation and the initiative to obtain knowledge of prenatal and postnatal care between the two groups of pregnant women ( P life events, score of anxiety and score of depression between them ( P life events, anxiety and depression were independent risk factors for it. Negative emotions and life events increase the risk of women's missed miscarriage, and the high educational level, good health status before pregnancy and the initiative to obtain the knowledge of prenatal and postnatal care reduce the risk of women's missed miscarriage.

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SOCIAL SAFENESS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN Facebook(®) USE AND LIFE SATISFACTION.

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Akin, Ahmet; Akin, Umran

2015-10-01

The present study examined the mediating role of social safeness on the relationship between Facebook(®) use and life satisfaction. The participants were 370 university students (M age = 20.2 yr., SD = 1.0) who completed a questionnaire package that included the Bergen Facebook(®) Addiction Scale, the Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale. According to the results, social safeness and life satisfaction were predicted negatively by Facebook(®) use. On the other hand, life satisfaction was predicted positively by social safeness. In addition, social safeness mediated on the relationship between Facebook(®) use and life satisfaction. The results were discussed in the light of the related literature.

Validity of the Life Satisfaction Questions, the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Post, Marcel W.; van Leeuwen, Christel M.; van Koppenhagen, Casper F.; de Groot, Sonja

2012-01-01

Objective: To assess and compare the validity of 3 life satisfaction instruments in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Cross-sectional study 5 years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Setting: Eight rehabilitation centers with specialized SCI units. Participants: Persons

Socially responsible marketing decisions - scale development

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Dina Lončarić

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to develop a measurement scale for evaluating the implementation level of the concept of social responsibility in taking marketing decisions, in accordance with a paradigm of the quality-of-life marketing. A new scale of "socially responsible marketing decisions" has been formed and its content validity, reliability and dimensionality have been analyzed. The scale has been tested on a sample of the most successful Croatian firms. The research results lead us to conclude that the scale has satisfactory psychometric characteristics but that it is necessary to improve it by generating new items and by testing it on a greater number of samples.

Pain, Sleep Disturbance, and Quality of Life Among Palestinian Patients Diagnosed with Cancer.

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Dreidi, Mu'taz M; Hamdan-Mansour, Ayman M

2016-12-01

The objective of this descriptive study is to explore the relationships between pain, sleep disturbance, and quality of life among Palestinian patients diagnosed with cancer in the West Bank. A cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design was used to collect data from 184 patients with cancer. The quality of life questionnaire, visual analogue pain scale, and physical health status were used in data collection. The results showed that the mean score for pain was 5, the best functioning was for cognitive scale (M = 75, SD = 29), the worst symptoms experienced by patients was appetite loss (M = 47, SD = 35), a moderate global health status (M = 53, SD = 27), and the mean for sleep disturbance was 43 (SD = 35). Pain and sleep disturbance showed high negative correlations with functional scales of quality of life and positive with symptom scales. The findings showed that the co-occurrence of pain and sleep disturbance was negatively correlated with quality of life (QoL) and positively with symptom scales. The regression analysis revealed that pain and sleep disturbance accounted for a significant proportion of variance in the QoL (p quality among Palestinian patients with cancer.

Exploring constructs of well-being, happiness and quality of life.

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Medvedev, Oleg N; Landhuis, C Erik

2018-01-01

Existing definitions of happiness, subjective well-being, and quality of life suggest conceptual overlap between these constructs. This study explored the relationship between these well-being constructs by applying widely used measures with satisfactory psychometric properties. University students ( n = 180) completed widely used well-being measures including the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. We analyzed the data using correlation, regression, and exploratory factor analysis. All included well-being measures demonstrated high loadings on the global well-being construct that explains about 80% of the variance in the OHQ, the psychological domain of Quality of Life and subjective well-being. The results show high positive correlations between happiness, psychological and health domains of quality of life, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Social and environmental domains of quality of life were poor predictors of happiness and subjective well-being after controlling for psychological quality of life. Together, these data provide support for a global well-being dimension and interchangeable use of terms happiness, subjective well-being, and psychological quality of life with the current sample and measures. Further investigation with larger heterogeneous samples and other well-being measures is warranted.

Gynecomastia Surgery-Impact on Life Quality: A Prospective Case-Control Study.

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Kasielska-Trojan, Anna; Antoszewski, Bogusław

2017-03-01

To evaluate the results of surgical treatment of gynecomastia in the context of quality of life and satisfaction after the surgery. Fifty male patients (mean age, 25.1 years [SD = 8 years]) who underwent surgery for gynecomastia and completed both (preoperative and postoperative) stages of the study were included in the analysis. The quality-of-life evaluation instrument was The Short Form-36 Health Survey Questionnaire. Additionally, we used a short questionnaire including 2 questions about patient satisfaction with gynecomastia surgery. The overall change in life satisfaction after gynecomastia surgery was 1 point on Likert scale (sign test, P gynecomastia surgery scored significantly higher than before the procedure in all Short Form-36 Health Survey Questionnaire domains as well as in 2 main scales Psychical and Physical Health. The changes were especially visible for the domain social functioning and a scale Psychical Health (P Gynecomastia surgery significantly improved men's life quality in all aspects and especially in the social aspect and psychical health. This indicates that adult men with gynecomastia are a specific group of patients, in which surgery may result in life quality improvement even over the average scores.

The Relationship between Job Variables of Life Satisfaction and Marital Satisfaction of Lecturers

OpenAIRE

Metehan ÇELİK; Songül TÜMKAYA

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the job variables of life satisfaction and marital satisfaction of lecturers. It is descriptive study comparing the marital satisfaction and life satisfaction in terms of gender, academic status, working year and working hours. The sample of the study consisted of voluntary and married 119 lecturers (40 female, 79 male). Data collection instruments were Marital Adjustment Scale and Life Satisfaction Scale. In terms of gender va...

Validation of the adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder quality-of-life scale in European patients: comparison with patients from the USA.

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Brod, Meryl; Adler, Lenard A; Lipsius, Sarah; Tanaka, Yoko; Heinloth, Alexandra N; Upadhyaya, Himanshu

2015-06-01

The adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) quality-of-life (AAQoL) scale was previously validated in adult patients in the USA; here, the AAQoL is validated in adult European patients. Data from a 12-week open-label acute treatment period with atomoxetine (80-100 mg/day) in adults with ADHD were used. Patients (≥ 18 to ≤ 50 years old) had a score ≥ 2 on ≥ 6 items on the inattentive or hyperactive core subscales of Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Investigator Rated: Screening Version (CAARS-Inv:SV); a CAARS-Inv:SV 18-item total ADHD symptom score ≥ 20; and Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Observer: Screening Version 6-item inattentive or hyperactive core subscale scores ≥ 2. Data were stratified based on patients' geographic region (Europe vs USA). Scale validation psychometric properties results were very similar between European (n = 1,217; 57.7 % male; mean age 33.0 years) and US (n = 602; 62.1 % male; mean age 33.5 years) patients, including factor loading, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity, and responsiveness. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed four AAQoL subscales. Internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha > 0.70 for all subscales). The AAQoL total score showed moderate convergent validity with CAARS-Inv:SV 18-item total ADHD symptom and clinical global impression-ADHD-severity (CGI-ADHD-S) scores; and strong convergent validity with Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version: Self-Report Global-Executive-Composite Index scores. Mean AAQoL total scores were significantly different among patients grouped by CGI-ADHD-S scores, suggesting good discriminant validity. The AAQoL total and subscale scores presented good responsiveness from baseline to 12 weeks. The AAQoL scale shows comparable validity in European and US adults with ADHD.

Quality of Life of Students with Disabilites Attending Jordanian Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Zboon, Eman; Ahmad, Jamal Fathi; Theeb, Raied Sheikh

2014-01-01

In spite of increasing number of students with disabilities in universities, there is limited research on quality of life of these students. This study aimed to identify the quality of life level of undergraduate students with disabilities at Jordanian universities. The sample consisted of (147) students. A quality of life scale was constructed,…

Satisfaction With Life, Coping, and Spirituality Among Urban Families.

Science.gov (United States)

Doolittle, Benjamin; Courtney, Malachi; Jasien, Joan

2015-10-01

Urban families face many challenges that affect life satisfaction, including low income, limited access to resources, and unstable neighborhoods. To investigate life satisfaction and identify potential mediators: neighborhood stability, emotional coping strategies, religion, and spirituality. A convenience sample of families presenting to an urban primary care clinic for routine care filled out an anonymous, voluntary survey that included demographic data, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Spiritual Inventory and Beliefs Scale, and an emotional coping inventory. 127 individuals filled out the survey. Life satisfaction was high (21.3 ± 9). Families in the lowest quartile of the SWLS were 4.5 times as likely to have a child with a chronic medical illness. SWLS correlated with strategy planning (r = 0.24, P < .01), external practices of religion (r = 0.23, P < .01), and humility (r = 0.18, P < .05). Encouraging patients' involvement in religion and certain coping strategies, especially among those families coping with children with special health care needs, may improve life satisfaction. © The Author(s) 2015.

Quality of life and compliance in geriatric patients

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Igor Kalugin

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background. Older adults usually have more than one chronic disease. In most cases, each condition requires constant pharmacotherapy. On average, the clinical examination of patients aged 60 and older reveals at least four or five different chronic pathological states in various phases and stages. Disease interference changes the classical clinical picture, increases the number of complications and their severity, affects the quality of life and prognosis, as a result - complicated medical diagnostic process and reduced compliance. The presence in the elderly both mental and physical illness significantly affects the quality of life. Psychological interventions aimed at a patient's awareness of the disease and methods of its treatment, the creation of therapeutic alliance and the prevention of self-medication, according to our hypothesis, contributes to compliance and quality of life improvement in polymorbid elderly patients suffering from mental disorders. Methods. In the study took part 325 patients who underwent inpatient treatment at the gerontopsychiatric department and signed provided informed consent. The study had a design of a randomized controlled clinical trial. Patients were randomized to experimental and control groups in a ratio of 3 to 1 based on age and gender. The study group of 238 people received standard treatment and psychological interventions. A comparison group of 87 people had only standard treatment. Patients were evaluated for quality of life with SF-36 scale and compliance with Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Results. We have seen significant intergroup differences on the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale in the baseline period. Consequently, its results were not be taken into account in the final analysis. Before treatment patients’ quality of life between the study groups did not differ statistically (p = 0.317. After the treatment, a statistically significant difference in life quality between experimental

Quality of Life Patients with Breast Cancer Therapy Combination Fluorouracil, Doxorubicin, and Cyclofosfamide

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Dewi D. Agustini

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Treatment of breast cancer with combination chemotherapy Florouracil, doxorubicin, and Cyclofosfamide (FAC lead to differences in the quality of life of patients is important to know because it can support the effectiveness of patient treatment. The aim of the study was to measure the difference and know the dimensions that affect the quality of life of breast cancer patients from each cycle of chemotherapy in Hasan Sadikin Hospital. This research is an observational analytic cross sectional approach. A sample of 200 breast cancer patients who were selected purposively and separated based on cycles of therapy. Assessment of quality of life of patients is done using a multidimensional instrument EORTC QLQ (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 and BR23. Data analysis was calculated using independent t test and linear regression. The results showed that there are differences in quality of life is very significant between QLQ-C30 functioning scale baseline with treatment 5, the QLQ-C30 symptom scale baseline therapy 5th, QLQ-BR23 function scale baseline with therapy 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, QLQ-BR23 symptoms scale baseline with therapy 4th, then a significant difference between scale symptoms of QLQ-BR23 baseline therapy with the 1st, 3rd, and 5th. Dimensions have a significant effect on quality of life is a social function, nausea and vomiting, dyspnea, sleep disorders and financial difficulties.

[Impact of attachment to God and religious coping on life satisfaction].

Science.gov (United States)

Láng, András

2013-11-17

Effects of religiosity on satisfaction with life, mental and physical health are highly favored topics of psychology. At the same time, less attention has been directed to how individual differences in religiosity affect believers' satisfaction with life. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between attachment to God, religious coping and satisfaction with life. A group of Roman Catholics (n = 94; 49 women and 45 men; age, 30.8±6.2 years) filled in our the survey package. The survey package contained the following measures: Attachment to God Inventory, Brief Religious Coping Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Negative religious coping and anxious attachment to God predicted lower satisfaction with life, even if demographic variables were controlled for. These results indicate that negative image of God is an important predictor of low satisfaction with life, which in turn can have negative impact on believers' mental and physical health. Orv. Hetil., 154(46), 1843-1847.

Biomass from agriculture in small-scale combined heat and power plants - A comparative life cycle assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimming, M.; Sundberg, C.; Nordberg, A.; Baky, A.; Bernesson, S.; Noren, O.; Hansson, P.-A.

2011-01-01

Biomass produced on farm land is a renewable fuel that can prove suitable for small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) plants in rural areas. However, it can still be questioned if biomass-based energy generation is a good environmental choice with regards to the impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and if there are negative consequences of using of agricultural land for other purposes than food production. In this study, a simplified life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted over four scenarios for supply of the entire demand of power and heat of a rural village. Three of the scenarios are based on utilization of biomass in 100 kW (e) combined heat and power (CHP) systems and the fourth is based on fossil fuel in a large-scale plant. The biomass systems analyzed were based on 1) biogas production with ley as substrate and the biogas combusted in a microturbine, 2) gasification of willow chips and the product gas combusted in an IC-engine and 3) combustion of willow chips for a Stirling engine. The two first scenarios also require a straw boiler. The results show that the biomass-based scenarios reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerably compared to the scenario based on fossil fuel, but have higher acidifying emissions. Scenario 1 has by far the best performance with respect to global warming potential and the advantage of utilizing a byproduct and thus not occupying extra land. Scenario 2 and 3 require less primary energy and less fossil energy input than 1, but set-aside land for willow production must be available. The low electric efficiency of scenario 3 makes it an unsuitable option.

Landscape-scale Habitat Templates and Life Histories of Endangered and Invasive Fish Species in Large Rivers of the Mid-Continent USA (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, R. B.; Braaten, P. J.; Chapman, D.; DeLonay, A. J.

2013-12-01

Many fish species migrate through river systems to complete their life cycles, occupying specific habitats during specific life stages. Regional geomorphology sets a template for their habitat-use patterns and ontogenetic development. In large rivers of the Mid-continent USA, understanding of relations of fish life histories to landscape-scale habitat templates informs recovery of endangered species and prevention of spread of invasive species. The endangered pallid sturgeon has evolved in the Missouri-Mississippi river system over 150 Ma. Its present-day distribution probably results from extensive drainage re-arrangements during the Pleistocene, followed by contemporary fragmentation. The reproductive and early life-stage needs of pallid sturgeon encompass hundreds of km, as adults migrate upstream to spawn and free embryos and larvae disperse downstream. Spawning requires coarse, hard substrate for incubation of adhesive eggs but adult pallid sturgeon are found predominately over sand, indicating that coarse substrate is a critical but transient habitat need. Once hatched, free-embryos initiate 9-17 days of downstream dispersal that distributes them over several hundreds of km. Lotic conditions at the dispersal terminus are required for survival. Persistent recruitment failure has been attributed to dams and channelization, which have fragmented migration and dispersal corridors, altered flow regimes, and diminished rearing habitats. Key elements of the natural history of this species remain poorly understood because adults are rare and difficult to observe, while the earliest life stages are nearly undetectable. Recent understanding has been accelerated using telemetry and hydroacoustics, but such assessments occur in altered systems and may not be indicative of natural behaviors. Restoration activities attempt - within considerable uncertainty -- to restore elements of the habitat template where they are needed. In comparison, invasive Asian carps have been

Validation of a Portuguese Version of the Children's Hope Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Marques, Susana C.; Pais-Ribeiro, J. L.; Lopez, Shane J.

2009-01-01

The article describes the development of the Portuguese version of the Children's Hope Scale and the examination of its psychometric properties. A sample of 367 Portuguese students completed the Portuguese-language versions of the Children's Hope Scale (CHS; Snyder et al., 1997), Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS; Huebner, 1991), Global…

Intensity of Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Lung Cancer in Relation to Quality of Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Polański, Jacek; Chabowski, Mariusz; Chudiak, Anna; Uchmanowicz, Bartosz; Janczak, Dariusz; Rosińczuk, Joanna; Mazur, Grzegorz

2018-01-01

Psychological factors, such as the anxiety and depression, which often occur in patients with lung cancer might negatively influence their quality of life. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of anxiety and depression in lung cancer patients on quality of life. The study included 180 lung patients of the mean age of 62.7 ± 9.7 years. The following scales were employed in the study: Quality of Life Questionnaire QLQ-C30 and LC13 scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS). The overall score of quality of life measured by QLQ-C30 was 47.1 ± 23.4 points on a hundred-point scale. Anxiety was diagnosed in 67 patients (37.2%) and depression in 75 patients (41.7%) by HADS. Quality of life was significantly worse in case of anxiety and depression (p anxiety and depression may help in therapeutic decision-making and may be a useful predictive factor in lung cancer patients.

HIV, self-transcendence, and quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellors, M P; Riley, T A; Erlen, J A

1997-01-01

Self-transcendence is a developmental characteristic that expands one's boundaries of the self to take on broader life perspectives, activities, and purposes that help one discover or make meaning of one's life. However, no quantitative studies were found in the research literature that focused on self-transcendence or on the relationship between self-transcendence and quality of life in people infected with HIV. To examine these variables in this population, 46 HIV-positive subjects completed Reed's Self-Transcendence Scale and Ferrans and Powers' Quality of Life Index. The results demonstrated that overall self-transcendence for this sample was relatively high; quality of life was higher than that reported in previous research; and there were some significant group differences among the three HIV clinical categories.

Life Satisfaction and Violent Behaviors among Middle School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Valois, Robert F.; Paxton, Raheem J.; Zullig, Keith J.; Huebner, E. Scott

2006-01-01

We explored relationships between violent behaviors and perceived life satisfaction among 2,138 middle school students in a southern state using the CDC Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MSYRBS) and the Brief Multidimensional Student Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Logistic regression analyses and multivariate models constructed…

Gender Differences in Perceived Social Support and Stressful Life Events in Depressed Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Soman, S; Bhat, S M; Latha, K S; Praharaj, S K

2016-03-01

To study the gender differences in perceived social support and life events in patients with depression. A total of 118 patients aged 18 to 60 years, with depressive disorder according to the DSM-IV-TR, were evaluated using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale. The perceived social support score was significantly higher in males than females (p friends than females (p life events as well as specific type of life events in males that became apparent after controlling for education (p life event in both males and females. Work-related problems were more commonly reported by males, whereas family and marital conflict were more frequently reported by females. Perceived social support and stressful life events were higher in males with depression than females.

Degradation of gas turbine coatings and life assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheruvu, N S [Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)

1999-12-31

MCrAlY coatings are widely used on hot section components of gas turbines to provide hot corrosion and/or oxidation protection by formation of an oxide layer on the surface. As the protective oxide scale exfoliates during service, aluminum from the coating diffuses outward for reformation of the protective scale. Aluminum may also diffuse inward due to the differences in composition between the coating and the substrate. Thus, the coatings degrade due to oxidation, oxide scale spallation, and inward and outward diffusion of aluminum. Service life of these coatings is controlled by the aluminum content in the coating, operating temperature and start- shutdown cycles. In-service degradation of CoCrAlY and CoNiCrAlY coatings is presented. A procedure to predict the remaining service life of coatings under oxidizing conditions is discussed. (orig.) 12 refs.

Degradation of gas turbine coatings and life assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheruvu, N.S. [Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)

1998-12-31

MCrAlY coatings are widely used on hot section components of gas turbines to provide hot corrosion and/or oxidation protection by formation of an oxide layer on the surface. As the protective oxide scale exfoliates during service, aluminum from the coating diffuses outward for reformation of the protective scale. Aluminum may also diffuse inward due to the differences in composition between the coating and the substrate. Thus, the coatings degrade due to oxidation, oxide scale spallation, and inward and outward diffusion of aluminum. Service life of these coatings is controlled by the aluminum content in the coating, operating temperature and start- shutdown cycles. In-service degradation of CoCrAlY and CoNiCrAlY coatings is presented. A procedure to predict the remaining service life of coatings under oxidizing conditions is discussed. (orig.) 12 refs.

Integrating life stages into ecological niche models: a case study on tiger beetles.

Science.gov (United States)

Taboada, Angela; von Wehrden, Henrik; Assmann, Thorsten

2013-01-01

Detailed understanding of a species' natural history and environmental needs across spatial scales is a primary requisite for effective conservation planning, particularly for species with complex life cycles in which different life stages occupy different niches and respond to the environment at different scales. However, niche models applied to conservation often neglect early life stages and are mostly performed at broad spatial scales. Using the endangered heath tiger beetle (Cicindela sylvatica) as a model species, we relate presence/absence and abundance data of locally dispersing adults and sedentary larvae to abiotic and biotic variables measured in a multiscale approach within the geographic extent relevant to active conservation management. At the scale of hundreds of meters, fine-grained abiotic conditions (i.e., vegetation structure) are fundamental determinants of the occurrence of both life stages, whereas the effect of biotic factors is mostly contained in the abiotic signature. The combination of dense heath vegetation and bare ground areas is thus the first requirement for the species' preservation, provided that accessibility to the suitable habitat is ensured. At a smaller scale (centimetres), the influence of abiotic factors on larval occurrence becomes negligible, suggesting the existence of important additional variables acting within larval proximity. Sustained significant correlations between neighbouring larvae in the models provide an indication of the potential impact of neighbourhood crowding on the larval niche within a few centimetres. Since the species spends the majority of its life cycle in the larval stage, it is essential to consider the hierarchical abiotic and biotic processes affecting the larvae when designing practical conservation guidelines for the species. This underlines the necessity for a more critical evaluation of the consequences of disregarding niche variation between life stages when estimating niches and

The Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS): Reliability, validity, and gender invariance in an Indian adolescent sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Jayana; Areepattamannil, Shaljan

2017-06-01

This study examined the internal consistency reliability, factorial, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity, as well as gender invariance of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS; Seligson, Huebner, & Valois, 2003) in a sample of 445 adolescents (M age  = 16.04 years) hailing from the southernmost state of India, Kerala. The study also examined the test-retest reliability (n = 392) of the BMSLSS. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient suggested that the BMSLSS was reliable. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the factorial validity of the BMSLSS. Bivariate correlational analyses provided support for the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the BMSLSS. The test-retest reliability coefficient indicated the temporal stability of the BMSLSS. Finally, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the gender invariance of the BMSLSS. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE LIFE QUALITY OF BUYNAKSK CITY INHABITANTS, REPUBLIC OF DAGESTAN (POPULATION STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. M. Abdurakhmanov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. We studied the life quality indicators of the population in Buynaksk city, Dagestan, in a random representative sample of 315 people (155 women and 160 men aged between 18 and 76 years. Respondents were divided into 3 age groups (up to 35 years, 35-50 years and 50 years and older.Methods. The study was performed using a common health survey – Medical Outcomes Study-Short Form-36 (SF-36 in accordance with the requirements of the International Quality of Life Assessment Project (IQOLA.Results. We conducted a comparative analysis of age dynamics of population quality of life, as well as the male and female population of the study sample. The highest quality of life indicators are found on the scales of social (SF and physical functioning (PF – 83.4 and 82.9 points, respectively, the lowest – on the scale of general health (GH– 58.6. In general, with aging, there is a decrease of life quality among both male and female population. The most marked age-related changes are observed on the scale of role-physical functioning (RF and physical functioning (PF – 54.2 and 48.0% respectively and the least marked on the scale of mental health – 4.4%. The value of the integral index of quality of life in population-based study in Buynaksk city, Republic of Dagestan was 583.4.Conclusion. The research findings might be used in planning, developing and evaluating the effectiveness of various reforms, health and socio-economic programs being implemented in the region as well as to improve the quality of life and well-being. 

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Relationship Assessment Scale among Couples

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غلامرضا دهشیری

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This research administrated to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of Relationship Assessment scale. Therefore, 315 married individuals (199 women and 116 men from Tehran city were volunteered to respond to four scales: the Relationship Assessment, the Kansas Marital Satisfaction, the Oxford Happiness and the Life Satisfaction. Results from exploratory & confirmatory factor analysis showed that factor structure of Relationship Assessment scale was unidimensional. The internal consistency of the scale in the total sample was 0.88. Significant correlations between scores of the Relationship Assessment scale with the scores of the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, the Life Satisfaction Scale and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire demonstrated good convergent validity of the scale. Also, the results showed that there was no significant gender difference between the mean scores of relationship satisfaction. In conclusion, the Relationship Assessment scale is a valid and reliable tool to measure marital satisfaction in Iran.

Life Satisfaction in Persons with Schizophrenia Living in the Community: Validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale

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Wu, Chia-Huei; Wu, Chin-Yu

2008-01-01

Subjective well-being is an increasingly common indicator of adequacy of psychiatric services. An easy-to-administer assessment tool of subjective well-being that is conceptually sound, valid, and reliable is needed for use in persons with schizophrenia. The purpose of this paper was to validate the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale…

Relations among School Connectedness, Hope, Life Satisfaction, and Bully Victimization

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You, Sukkyung; Furlong, Michael J.; Felix, Erika; Sharkey, Jill D.; Tanigawa, Diane; Green, Jennifer Greif

2008-01-01

This study investigates the role of school connectedness in mediating the relation between students' sense of hope and life satisfaction for three groups: Bullied Victims, Peer Victims, and Nonvictims. Students in grades 5 to 12 (N = 866) completed the California Bully/Victim Scale, School Connectedness Scale, Children's Hope Scale, and Students'…

Measuring quality of life among people living with HIV: a systematic review of reviews.

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Cooper, Vanessa; Clatworthy, Jane; Harding, Richard; Whetham, Jennifer

2017-11-15

A systematic review of reviews was conducted to identify and appraise brief measures of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) that have been used in peer-reviewed research with people living with HIV. The review was conducted in two stages: 1) search of electronic databases to identify systematic reviews of tools used to measure HRQoL in adults living with HIV, published since the year 2000; 2) selection of HRQol scales from those identified in the reviews. Inclusion criteria included scales that could be self-administered in 10 min or less, covering at least 3 domains of quality of life (physical function, social/role function and mental/emotional function). For generic scales, inclusion criteria included the availability of normative data while for HIV-specific scales, patient input into the development of the scale was required. Ten reviews met the inclusion criteria. Nine generic scales met the inclusion criteria: the EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D); Health Utilities Index; McGill Quality of Life questionnaire; Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Short Form (SF)-12; SF-36; World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL- BREF), Questions of Life Satisfaction (FLZM) and SF-20. Available psychometric data supported the EQ-5D and SF-36. Seven HIV-specific scales met the inclusion criteria: the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG)-21; HIV-QL-31; MOS-HIV; Multidimensional Quality of Life Questionnaire for Persons with HIV/AIDS (MQOL-HIV), PROQOL-HIV, Symptom Quality of Life Adherence (HIV-SQUAD) and the WHOQOL-HIV BREF. Of the HIV -specific measures, the MOS-HIV was considered to have the most well-established psychometric properties, however limitations identified in the reviews included insufficient input from people living with HIV in the development of the scale, cross-cultural relevance and continued applicability. Two relatively new measures, the WHOQOL-HIV BREF and PROQOL-HIV, were considered to have promising psychometric properties and may have

Stressful life events, vulnerable to stress and depression among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The present study was carried out to observe the difference between male and female Eritrean students on the basis of stressful life events, vulnerable to stress and depression. Stressful life Events Questionnaire, Vulnerable to Stress Instrument and Beck Depression Scale were administered to gather information. The data ...

Edentulism and dental prostheses in the elderly: impact on quality of life measured with EuroQol--visual analog scale (EQ-VAS).

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Cano-Gutiérrez, Carlos; Borda, Miguel G; Arciniegas, Antonio J; Borda, Claudia X

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to measure the impact of edentulism and dental prostheses on quality of life (QOL) in older adults in Bogota, Colombia. Edentulism is a frequent condition in older adults and has great impact on their QOL. No epidemiological data are currently available on edentulism among older adults in Colombia. Data were obtained from the SABE-Bogota study, a cross-sectional study conducted in 2012, and used to analyze the EQ-VAS (Visual Analog Scale) from the EuroQol instrument to measure the perception of quality of life (QOL) in relation to edentulism. The study included 2,000 individuals over 60 years old. The Spearman-Rho correlation was used to analyze the correlation between EQ-VAS and edentulism. Chi-Square, ANOVA and t-test were used to study the differences in EQ-VAS scores between edentulous and healthy subjects. Statistical significance was set at peducation were related to edentulism. Individuals with fewer teeth and dental prostheses had lower EQ-VAS scores (pmeasuring the perception of QOL in dental health scenarios. Edentulism significantly affects QOL in older adults and the use of dental prosthesis does not improve the perception of QOL.

Japanese Adaptation of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39): Comparative Study among Different Types of Aphasia.

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Kamiya, Akane; Kamiya, Kentaro; Tatsumi, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Makihiko; Horiguchi, Satoshi

2015-11-01

We have developed a Japanese version of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale-39 (SAQOL-39), designated as SAQOL-39-J, and used psychometric methods to examine its acceptability and reliability. The acceptability and reliability of SAQOL-39-J, which was developed from the English version using a standard translation and back-translation method, were examined in 54 aphasia patients using standard psychometric methods. The acceptability and reliability of SAQOL-39-J were then compared among patients with different types of aphasia. SAQOL-39-J showed good acceptability, internal consistency (Cronbach's α score = .90), and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = .97). Broca's aphasia patients showed the lowest total scores and communication scores on SAQOL-39-J. The Japanese version of SAQOL-39, SAQOL-39-J, provides acceptable and reliable data in Japanese stroke patients with aphasia. Among different types of aphasia, Broca's aphasia patients had the lowest total and communication SAQOL-39-J scores. Further studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of health care interventions on health-related quality of life in this population. Copyright © 2015 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of the irritable bowel syndrome scale under the system of quality of life instruments for chronic diseases QLICD-IBS: combinations of classical test theory and generalizability theory.

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Lei, Pingguang; Lei, Guanghe; Tian, Jianjun; Zhou, Zengfen; Zhao, Miao; Wan, Chonghua

2014-10-01

This paper is aimed to develop the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) scale of the system of Quality of Life Instruments for Chronic Diseases (QLICD-IBS) by the modular approach and validate it by both classical test theory and generalizability theory. The QLICD-IBS was developed based on programmed decision procedures with multiple nominal and focus group discussions, in-depth interview, and quantitative statistical procedures. One hundred twelve inpatients with IBS were used to provide the data measuring QOL three times before and after treatments. The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated with respect to validity, reliability, and responsiveness employing correlation analysis, factor analyses, multi-trait scaling analysis, t tests and also G studies and D studies of generalizability theory analysis. Multi-trait scaling analysis, correlation, and factor analyses confirmed good construct validity and criterion-related validity when using SF-36 as a criterion. Test-retest reliability coefficients (Pearson r and intra-class correlation (ICC)) for the overall score and all domains were higher than 0.80; the internal consistency α for all domains at two measurements were higher than 0.70 except for the social domain (0.55 and 0.67, respectively). The overall score and scores for all domains/facets had statistically significant changes after treatments with moderate or higher effect size standardized response mean (SRM) ranging from 0.72 to 1.02 at domain levels. G coefficients and index of dependability (Ф coefficients) confirmed the reliability of the scale further with more exact variance components. The QLICD-IBS has good validity, reliability, responsiveness, and some highlights and can be used as the quality of life instrument for patients with IBS.

Health-related quality of life of infants from ethnic minority groups: the Generation R Study.

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Flink, Ilse J E; Beirens, Tinneke M J; Looman, Caspar; Landgraf, Jeanne M; Tiemeier, Henning; Mol, Henriette A; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Hofman, Albert; Mackenbach, Johan P; Raat, Hein

2013-04-01

To assess whether the health-related quality of life of infants from ethnic minority groups differs from the health-related quality of life of native Dutch infants and to evaluate whether infant health and family characteristics explain the potential differences. We included 4,506 infants participating in the Generation R Study, a longitudinal birth cohort. When the child was 12 months, parents completed the Infant Toddler Quality of Life Questionnaire (ITQOL); ITQOL scale scores in each ethnic subgroup were compared with scores in the Dutch reference population. Influence of infant health and family characteristics on ITQOL scale scores were evaluated using multivariate regression models. Infants from ethnic minority groups presented significantly lower ITQOL scale scores compared to the Dutch subgroup (e.g., Temperament and Moods scale: median score of Turkish subgroup, 70.8 (IQR, 15.3); median score of Dutch subgroup, 80.6 (IQR, 13.9; P ethnic minority status and infant health-related quality of life. However, these factors could not fully explain all the differences in the ITQOL scale scores. Parent-reported health-related quality of life is lower in infants from ethnic minority groups compared to native Dutch infants, which could partly be explained by infant health and by family characteristics.

Regionalization of land use impact models for life cycle assessment: Recommendations for their use on the global scale and their applicability to Brazil

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Pavan, Ana Laura Raymundo, E-mail: laurarpavan@gmail.com [Center for Water Resource and Environmental Studies, São Carlos School of Engineering, University of São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-Carlense 400, São Carlos 13566-590, SP (Brazil); Ometto, Aldo Roberto [Center for Water Resource and Environmental Studies, São Carlos School of Engineering, University of São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-Carlense 400, São Carlos 13566-590, SP (Brazil); Department of Production Engineering, São Carlos School of Engineering, University of São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-Carlense 400, São Carlos 13566-590, SP (Brazil)

2016-09-15

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the main technique for evaluate the environmental impacts of product life cycles. A major challenge in the field of LCA is spatial and temporal differentiation in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods, especially impacts resulting from land occupation and land transformation. Land use characterization modeling has advanced considerably over the last two decades and many approaches have recently included crucial aspects such as geographic differentiation. Nevertheless, characterization models have so far not been systematically reviewed and evaluated to determine their applicability to South America. Given that Brazil is the largest country in South America, this paper analyzes the main international characterization models currently available in the literature, with a view to recommending regionalized models applicable on a global scale for land use life cycle impact assessments, and discusses their feasibility for regionalized assessment in Brazil. The analytical methodology involves classification based on the following criteria: midpoint/endpoint approach, scope of application, area of data collection, biogeographical differentiation, definition of recovery time and reference situation; followed by an evaluation of thirteen scientific robustness and environmental relevance subcriteria. The results of the scope of application are distributed among 25% of the models developed for the European context, and 50% have a global scope. There is no consensus in the literature about the definition of parameters such biogeographical differentiation and reference situation, and our review indicates that 35% of the models use ecoregion division while 40% use the concept of potential natural vegetation. Four characterization models show high scores in terms of scientific robustness and environmental relevance. These models are recommended for application in land use life cycle impact assessments, and also to serve as references for the

Influence of adapted sports on quality of life and life satisfaction in sport participants and non-sport participants with physical disabilities.

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Yazicioglu, Kamil; Yavuz, Ferdi; Goktepe, Ahmet Salim; Tan, Arif Kenan

2012-10-01

The lack of controlled trials in the relationship between participation in adapted sports, and quality of life (QoL) and life satisfaction in people with physical disabilities encouraged us to consider conducting this study. The aim of this study was to compare the QoL and life satisfaction scores between people with physical disabilities who participated in adapted sports and those who did not participate in any adapted sports. This cross-sectional controlled study included 60 individuals with physical disabilities (paraplegia and amputee). Participants were divided into two groups based on sports participation and non-sports participation. Group one included 30 disabled elite athletes who participated in adapted sports. The control group included 30 disabled individuals not involved in any adapted sports. We compared scores on the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Scale (WHOQoL-BREF) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) between the two groups. Participation in the community and QoL was examined as a reflection of participant's priority on sports participation. We found that WHOQoL-BREF physical, psychological, and social domain scores were significantly higher in group one than in the control group (p sports had significantly higher QoL and life satisfaction scores compared to people with physical disabilities not involved in any adapted sports. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality of Life and Psychosocial Implications in Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

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Kouris, Anargyros; Platsidaki, Eftychia; Christodoulou, Christos; Efstathiou, Vasiliki; Dessinioti, Clio; Tzanetakou, Vasiliki; Korkoliakou, Panagiota; Zisimou, Chrisa; Antoniou, Christina; Kontochristopoulos, George

2016-01-01

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a long-term skin disorder associated with high levels of psychological distress and significant life impact. To evaluate the quality of life, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and self-esteem in patients with HS. Ninety-four patients with HS were enrolled in the study. The quality of life, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and self-esteem of the patients were assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-Version 3), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), respectively. The DLQI mean score was 11.43 ± 6.61 in patients with HS. The patients with HS presented statistically significantly higher anxiety (6.41 ± 3.31 vs. 5.00 ± 1.59, p loneliness and social isolation scores (42.86 ± 8.63 vs. 35.57 ± 6.17, p < 0.001) and lower self-esteem scores (18.91 ± 1.79 vs. 19.77 ± 2.53, p = 0.008) than the healthy controls. HS is a distressing, recurrent disease that impairs quality of life. We can suggest services that allow an integrated approach, which includes psychosocial support, offering the patients relief from isolation and an opportunity to share common experiences. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Life on rock. Scaling down biological weathering in a new experimental design at Biosphere-2

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Zaharescu, D. G.; Dontsova, K.; Burghelea, C. I.; Chorover, J.; Maier, R.; Perdrial, J. N.

2012-12-01

Biological colonization and weathering of bedrock on Earth is a major driver of landscape and ecosystem development, its effects reaching out into other major systems such climate and geochemical cycles of elements. In order to understand how microbe-plant-mycorrhizae communities interact with bedrock in the first phases of mineral weathering we developed a novel experimental design in the Desert Biome at Biosphere-2, University of Arizona (U.S.A). This presentation will focus on the development of the experimental setup. Briefly, six enclosed modules were designed to hold 288 experimental columns that will accommodate 4 rock types and 6 biological treatments. Each module is developed on 3 levels. A lower volume, able to withstand the weight of both, rock material and the rest of the structure, accommodates the sampling elements. A middle volume, houses the experimental columns in a dark chamber. A clear, upper section forms the habitat exposed to sunlight. This volume is completely sealed form exterior and it allows a complete control of its air and water parameters. All modules are connected in parallel with a double air purification system that delivers a permanent air flow. This setup is expected to provide a model experiment, able to test important processes in the interaction rock-life at grain-to- molecular scale.

Fear of Success and Life Satisfaction in Terms of Self-Efficacy

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Yilmaz, Hasan

2018-01-01

The purpose of the present research is presenting the relationships between self-efficacy, fear of success and life satisfaction; and determining the predictive power fear of success and self-efficacy on life satisfaction. For this purpose, self-efficacy, fear of achievement and life satisfaction scales were implemented on 625 individuals. In the…

Assessing College Student-Athletes' Life Stress: Initial Measurement Development and Validation

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Lu, Frank Jing-Horng; Hsu, Ya-Wen; Chan, Yuan-Shuo; Cheen, Jang-Rong; Kao, Kuei-Tsu

2012-01-01

College student-athletes have unique life stress that warrants close attention. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measurement assessing college student-athletes' life stress. In Study 1, a focus group discussion and Delphi method produced a questionnaire draft, termed the College Student-Athletes' Life Stress Scale. In…

Coping responses as predictors of satisfaction with life amongst a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

All participants completed the Coping Responses Inventory – Adult Version, as well as the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Initially, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the relationship between the predictor variables (coping responses) and the criterion variable(satisfaction with life).

Quality of life assessment in patients with multiple sclerosis

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Kisić-Tepavčević Darija

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. Multiple sclerosis (MS is a chronic inflammatory disease of central nervous system. The main physiopatological feature of MS is demyelination. Multiple sclerosis is one of three most common causes of severe disability in youngest people. In patients with MS, apart from complete psychophysical status and objective neurologic status, a subjective perception of symptoms and signs, known as quality of life, must be considered, too. The aim of this study was to estimate a health related quality of life (HRQoL in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS and to investigate the correlations between scores of HRQoL and selected demographic and clinical parameters. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed in patients meeting following inclusion criteria: MS diagnosis (McDonald's criteria, age 18-60 years, the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS < 8, and written informed consent. Exclusion criteria were exacerbation of MS in the last month, any preexisting major chronic illness and/or psychiatric disorders and antidepressive and/or corticosteroid therapy in the last month. The quality of life was measured by a disease specific instrument, MSQoL-54 (The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life. The neurological impairment was assessed using the Expended Disability Status Scale (EDSS and Mini Mental Scale (MMS. The presence and severity of depression was estimated by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS. The presence and severity of fatigue was assessed by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. Results. The higher HRQoL score was registered for mental health (56.3 ± 19.5 than for physical one(51.3 ± 17.9, which means that physical disability had more important influence on quality of life deterioration comparing to mental health. The highest values of HRQoL were observed in domains of Cognitive Functioning (77.4 ± 22.5 and Pain (75.7 ± 25.5. The lowest scores of

Subjective Vitality as Mediator and Moderator of the Relationship between Life Satisfaction and Subjective Happiness

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Uysal, Recep; Satici, Seydi Ahmet; Satici, Begüm; Akin, Ahmet

2014-01-01

In this study, the mediator and moderator effects of subjective vitality on the relationship between life satisfaction and subjective happiness were investigated. The participants were 378 university students who completed a questionnaire package that included the Subjective Vitality Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Subjective…

Trends in scale and shape of survival curves.

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Weon, Byung Mook; Je, Jung Ho

2012-01-01

The ageing of the population is an issue in wealthy countries worldwide because of increasing costs for health care and welfare. Survival curves taken from demographic life tables may help shed light on the hypotheses that humans are living longer and that human populations are growing older. We describe a methodology that enables us to obtain separate measurements of scale and shape variances in survival curves. Specifically, 'living longer' is associated with the scale variance of survival curves, whereas 'growing older' is associated with the shape variance. We show how the scale and shape of survival curves have changed over time during recent decades, based on period and cohort female life tables for selected wealthy countries. Our methodology will be useful for performing better tracking of ageing statistics and it is possible that this methodology can help identify the causes of current trends in human ageing.

Emergence of Life

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Marie-Paule Bassez

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Indeed, even if we know that many individual components are necessary for life to exist, we do not yet know what makes life emerge. One goal of this journal Life is to juxtapose articles with multidisciplinary approaches and perhaps to answer in the near future this question of the emergence of life. Different subjects and themes will be developed, starting of course with the multiple definitions of life and continuing with others such as: life diversity and universality; characteristics of living systems; thermodynamics with energy and entropy; kinetics and catalysis; water in its different physical states; circulation of sap and blood and its origin; the first blood pump and first heart; the first exchange of nutrients between cells, sap and blood; essential molecules of living systems; chirality; molecular asymmetry and its origin; formation of enantiomer excess and amplification; microscopic observations on a micrometer and sub-micrometer scales, at molecular and atomic levels; the first molecules at the origin of genetic information, viroids, circular RNA; regions of space or the area inside membranes and cells capable of initiating and maintaining life; phenomena at the origin of the emergence of life; molecules studied in the traditional field of chemistry and in the recent field of nanoscience governed by new laws; interaction between the individual molecules and components of living systems; interaction between living systems and the environment; transfer of information through generations; continuation of life from one generation to the next; prebiotic chemistry and prebiotic signatures on Earth, on Mars, on other planets; biosignatures of the first forms of life; fossils and pseudofossils dating 3.5 Ga ago and more recent ones; experimental fossilization; pluricellular eukaryotes dating 2.1 Ga ago; sudden increase in oxygen in the atmosphere around 2.0 to 2.5 Ga ago and its relation to geology; shell symmetry; aging with

Quality of life psychosocial characteristics in Greek patients with leg ulcers: a case control study.

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Kouris, Anargyros; Armyra, Kalliopi; Christodoulou, Christos; Sgontzou, Themis; Karypidis, Dimitrios; Kontochristopoulos, George; Liordou, Fotini; Zakopoulou, Nikoletta; Zouridaki, Eftychia

2016-10-01

Chronic leg ulcers are a public health problem that can have a significant impact on the patient's physical, socioeconomic and psychological status. The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of life, anxiety and depression, self-esteem and loneliness in patients suffering from leg ulcers. A total of 102 patients were enrolled in the study. The quality of life, anxiety and depression, self-esteem and loneliness of the patient were assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale (RSES) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-Version 3), respectively. The mean DLQI score was 13·38 ± 2·59, suggesting a serious effect on the quality of life of patients. Those with leg ulcers had statistically significant higher scores according to the HADS-total scale (P = 0·031) and HADS-anxiety subscale (P = 0·015) compared with healthy volunteers. Moreover, a statistically significant difference was found between the two groups concerning the UCLA-scale (P = 0·029). Female patients presented with a higher score of anxiety (P = 0·027) and social isolation (P = 0·048), and worse quality of life (P = 0·018) than male patients. A severe quality of life impairment was documented, reflecting a significant psychosocial impact on patients with leg ulcers. © 2014 The Authors. International Wound Journal © 2014 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Applying Movement Ecology to Marine Animals with Complex Life Cycles

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Allen, Richard M.; Metaxas, Anna; Snelgrove, Paul V. R.

2018-01-01

Marine animals with complex life cycles may move passively or actively for fertilization, dispersal, predator avoidance, resource acquisition, and migration, and over scales from micrometers to thousands of kilometers. This diversity has catalyzed idiosyncratic and unfocused research, creating unsound paradigms regarding the role of movement in ecology and evolution. The emerging movement ecology paradigm offers a framework to consolidate movement research independent of taxon, life-history stage, scale, or discipline. This review applies the framework to movement among life-history stages in marine animals with complex life cycles to consolidate marine movement research and offer insights for scientists working in aquatic and terrestrial realms. Irrespective of data collection or simulation strategy, breaking each life-history stage down into the fundamental units of movement allows each unit to be studied independently or interactively with other units. Understanding these underlying mechanisms of movement within each life-history stage can then be used to construct lifetime movement paths. These paths can allow further investigation of the relative contributions and interdependencies of steps and phases across a lifetime and how these paths influence larger research topics, such as population-level movements.

Rebuilding self-confidence after cancer: a feasibility study of life-coaching.

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Wagland, Richard; Fenlon, Deborah; Tarrant, Ruth; Howard-Jones, Gilly; Richardson, Alison

2015-03-01

Cancer survivors often experience decreased self-confidence which impacts negatively on their ability to self-manage the practical, social and emotional problems frequently faced as they emerge from end of treatment. This was a feasibility study of a life-coaching intervention, designed to rebuild confidence of survivors and support transition to life after cancer treatment. A one group pre-test, post-test design was used, recruiting participants from community organisations. Eligibility criteria are as follows: 18, no metastases, and no mental health problems. Participants received one individualised face-to-face and five telephone coaching sessions over 3 months. Outcome measures are as follows: New General Self-Efficacy Scale, Hope Scale, Personal Well-being Index, Assessment of Survivorship Concerns, Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Social Difficulties Index, and a goal attainment score. Interviews explored feasibility, acceptability and impact of life-coaching and research design. Nine women and two men were recruited, representing varying cancer diagnoses. All outcome measures were sensitive to change and indicated positive trends post-intervention. Participant interviews indicated the intervention was well received and had a positive impact. Lessons were learnt about study design, recruitment and intervention delivery. Life-coaching has a potential to enable cancer survivors to manage the transition to life beyond cancer and effect change on a range of outcomes. The intervention was feasible to deliver and acceptable to survivors at a time when many struggle to make sense of life. It merits further evaluation through a randomised controlled trial.

Management of depression in the last month of life.

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Eychmueller, Steffen

2009-09-01

In clinical practice, assessment and adequate treatment of depression in the last month of life remain a difficult task. Although assessment instruments and criteria for depression are available for use in the palliative care population, few have been applied for the last weeks of life. The same is true for clinical management including antidepressants. Assessment aids such as Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale or Hamilton Depression Rating Scale are available and validated for the last days or weeks of life, but its clinical impact remains unclear. The wish to die may symbolize more the acceptance that life comes to an end instead of reflecting a depressive or anxiety disorder. Communication about concrete preparation for death, life completion discussions, expressing religious struggle and giving back a sense of coherence seem to be promising non-pharmacological strategies and may lead to improved social function and better management of physical symptoms. Good news for researchers comes from a recent study highlighting the fact that psychosocial research seems to be of more potential benefit than burden for the patient. No recent literature can be found on the pharmacological management of depression in the last weeks of life. Few studies demonstrate the usefulness of concrete end of life preparation discussions that underpins the importance and impact of best carer-patient relationship during this last phase of life. A Cochrane protocol on antidepressants in severely physically ill patients has been undertaken recently to highlight this important clinical question, but results may reflect the lack of studies focusing on the last weeks or days of life.

COMPARATIVE DESCRIPTION OF POPULATION PARAMETERS OF THE LIFE QUALITY OF INHABITANTS OF DAKHADAEV DISTRICT, REPUBLIC OF DAGESTAN

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Patimat Asadullamagomedowna Bekshokova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The study presents the population indices of the life quality of inhabitants of Dakhadaev district, Republic of Dagestan. The study was conducted using a questionnaire SF-36. The regularities of the age-and gender changes of parameters of the life quality were identified. The highest rate in the analyzed settlements was marked on a scale of social functioning, the lowest – on the scale of overall health. The integral indexes of men were higher in all age groups than those of women. The highest parameters of the integral index of the male and female population were fixed in the age-group to 35. The most gender differences are noted on the scale of the role-physical functioning, the least on the scale of social functioning. In whole with age increasing we saw lowering parameters of indices of the life quality as in male group, so in female one. Besides the most changes in indices of the life quality were on the scale of role-physical functioning. Minimal differences in age groups were observed on the scales of social functioning and mental health. Women have more age lowering of indices of the life quality than men exceptthe role-physical functioning and social functioning. The highest parameter of the integral index of the life quality was observed in Zilbachi administrative settlement, the lowest one – in Kharbuk settlement of Dakhadaev district, Republic of Dagestan. The data of population study of the life quality give the information about indices of the life quality of population, reflecting in such a way the degree of its physical, psychological and social wellbeing. This information allows to estimate the efficiency of realization different medical and social and economic programs, aiming to improvement of the life quality of the population, rising the level of its wellbeing.Aim. The aim of this work was a pilot study of population indices of the life quality of inhabitants of Dakhadaev district, Republic of Dagestan

Perceived social support and life satisfaction in persons with somatization disorder

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Arif Ali

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Life satisfaction and perceived social support been shown to improve the well-being of a person and also affect the outcome of treatment in somatization disorder. The phenomenon of somatization was explored in relation to the perceived social support and life satisfaction. Aim: This study aimed at investigating perceived social support and life satisfaction in people with somatization disorder. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on persons having somatization disorder attending the outpatient unit of LGB Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, Assam. Satisfaction with life scale and multidimensional scale of perceived social support were used to assess life satisfaction and perceived social support respectively. Results: Women reported more somatic symptoms than men. Family perceived social support was high in the patient in comparison to significant others′ perceived social support and friends′ perceived social support. Perceived social support showed that a significant positive correlation was found with life satisfaction. Conclusion: Poor social support and low life satisfaction might be a stress response with regard to increased distress severity and psychosocial stressors rather than a cultural response to express psychological problems in somatic terms.

Life-Cycle Assessment of a Distributed-Scale Thermochemical Bioenergy Conversion System

Science.gov (United States)

Hongmei Gu; Richard Bergman

2016-01-01

Expanding bioenergy production from woody biomass has the potential to decrease net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve the energy security of the United States. Science-based and internationally accepted life-cycle assessment (LCA) is an effective tool for policy makers to make scientifically informed decisions on expanding renewable energy production from...

Factors influencing the life satisfaction in the older Korean women living alone.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sook-Young; Sok, Sohyune R

2013-04-01

The population of Korea is aging rapidly. The older population varies in characteristics in accordance with a wide-range of circumstances; therefore, categorizing the overall older population as a homogeneous group, could misrepresent their issues. For that reason, the study of older people should be focused on the diversity of characteristics among the older population. The aims of this study were to examine and identify the factors related to life satisfaction in older Korean women living alone. This study was a cross-sectional survey design. The participants comprised of 243 older women over the age of 65, who met eligibility criteria. Measures were a demographic characteristics form, the Health Self-Rating Scale, the Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Korean Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, and the Life Satisfaction Instrument. Degrees of the perceived health status, self-esteem, and depression were higher than the median. Life satisfaction was lower than the median. Predictors that determine life satisfaction in older Korean women living alone were depression, perceived health status, self-esteem, and monthly allowance. All these predictors, or factors, had an explanatory power of 48.2% for life satisfaction among older Korean women living alone. Of all these predictor factors, depression had the largest impact. The major factor influencing the life satisfaction in older Korean women living alone was depression. These findings suggest that there is a need to develop nursing strategies aimed at decreasing depression in order to increase life satisfaction in older women living alone.

Quality of Life in College Students with and without Social Phobia

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Ghaedi, Gholam Hossein; Tavoli, Azadeh; Bakhtiari, Maryam; Melyani, Mahdieh; Sahragard, Mahdi

2010-01-01

Prior studies demonstrating quality of life impairment in phobia and anxiety disorders have relied upon epidemiological samples or clinical data. Using the same quality of life scale, the Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36), in Iranian college students allowed us to study the impact of social phobia (SP) on quality of life among the college…

A Comparison of the Life Satisfaction and Hopelessness Levels of Teacher Candidates in Turkey

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Gencay, Selcuk; Gencay, Okkes Alpaslan

2011-01-01

This study aims to explore the level of hopelessness and life satisfaction of teacher candidates from the view points of gender and branch variables. With this aim, the "Beck Hopelessness Scale and Life Satisfaction Scale" has been applied to a total of 278 teacher candidates, of which 133 were females and 145 were males. According to…

Planets and Life

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Woodruff T., III; Baross, John

2007-09-01

Foreword; Preface; Contributors; Prologue; Part I. History: 1. History of astrobiological ideas W. T. Sullivan and D. Carney; 2. From exobiology to astrobiology S. J. Dick; Part II. The Physical Stage: 3. Formation of Earth-like habitable planets D. E. Brownlee and M. Kress; 4. Planetary atmospheres and life D. Catling and J. F. Kasting; Part III. The Origin of Life on Earth: 5. Does 'life' have a definition? C.E. Cleland and C. F. Chyba; 6. Origin of life: crucial issues R. Shapiro; 7. Origin of proteins and nucleic acids A. Ricardo and S. A. Benner; 8. The roots of metabolism G.D. Cody and J. H. Scott; 9. Origin of cellular life D. W. Deamer; Part IV. Life on Earth: 10. Evolution: a defining feature of life J. A. Baross; 11. Evolution of metabolism and early microbial communities J. A. Leigh, D. A. Stahl and J. T. Staley; 12. The earliest records of life on Earth R. Buick; 13. The origin and diversification of eukaryotes M. L. Sogin, D. J. Patterson and A. McArthur; 14. Limits of carbon life on Earth and elsewhere J. A. Baross, J. Huber and M. Schrenk; 15. Life in ice J. W. Deming and H. Eicken; 16. The evolution and diversification of life S. Awramik and K. J. McNamara; 17. Mass extinctions P. D. Ward; Part V. Potentially Habitable Worlds: 18. Mars B. M. Jakosky, F. Westall and A. Brack; 19. Europa C. F. Chyba and C. B. Phillips; 20. Titan J. I. Lunine and B. Rizk; 21. Extrasolar planets P. Butler; Part VI. Searching for Extraterrestrial Life: 22. How to search for life on other worlds C. P. McKay; 23. Instruments and strategies for detecting extraterrestrial life P. G. Conrad; 24. Societial and ethical concerns M. S. Race; 25. Planetary protection J. D. Rummel; 26. Searching for extraterrestrial intelligence J. C. Tarter; 27. Alien biochemistries P. D. Ward and S. A. Benner; Part VII. Future of the Field: 28. Disciplinary and educational opportunities L. Wells, J. Armstrong and J. Huber; Epilogue C. F. Chyba; Appendixes: A. Units and usages; B. Planetary

Depression, anxiety and stress as negative predictors of life satisfaction in university students

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bukhari, S.R.; Saba, F.

2017-01-01

Objective: To study the role of depression, anxiety and stress in prediction of life satisfaction in male and female university students. Methodology: The study involved 200 students, 100 males and 100 females selected by using purposive sampling technique from different universities of Islamabad. Age range of participants was 19-30 years (mean 21.79+-2.970). Depression anxiety stress scale-21 (DASS-21 and Life Satisfaction scale were administered. Data were analyzed on SPSS version 19. Results: The result of present study indicated that depression anxiety and stress significantly predict life satisfaction among male and female university students. Conclusion: University students who are facing depression, anxiety and stress are more vulnerable to low levels of life satisfaction. (author)

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Towing Resistance of the Innovative Pneumatic Life Raft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burciu Zbigniew

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the experimental and numerical investigations of a novel design of a pneumatic life raft in calm water conditions. Two main issues were considered: the life raft performance under tow and its resistance in calm water conditions. The experiment and CFD simulations were performed by using the full scale prototype to eliminate the scale effect. The towing tank tests confirmed the results of numerical computations. The compatibility of the results of numerical and experimental tests was high mainly because the new life raft does not deform under the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic loads. The characteristics similar to rigid body behaviour result mainly from a new construction and materials used for manufacturing the life raft.

Life in the lithosphere, kinetics and the prospects for life elsewhere.

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Cockell, Charles S

2011-02-13

The global contiguity of life on the Earth today is a result of the high flux of carbon and oxygen from oxygenic photosynthesis over the planetary surface and its use in aerobic respiration. Life's ability to directly use redox couples from components of the planetary lithosphere in a pre-oxygenic photosynthetic world can be investigated by studying the distribution of organisms that use energy sources normally bound within rocks, such as iron. Microbiological data from Iceland and the deep oceans show the kinetic limitations of living directly off igneous rocks in the lithosphere. Using energy directly extracted from rocks the lithosphere will support about six orders of magnitude less productivity than the present-day Earth, and it would be highly localized. Paradoxically, the biologically extreme conditions of the interior of a planet and the inimical conditions of outer space, between which life is trapped, are the locations from which volcanism and impact events, respectively, originate. These processes facilitate the release of redox couples from the planetary lithosphere and might enable it to achieve planetary-scale productivity approximately one to two orders of magnitude lower than that produced by oxygenic photosynthesis. The significance of the detection of extra-terrestrial life is that it will allow us to test these observations elsewhere and establish an understanding of universal relationships between lithospheres and life. These data also show that the search for extra-terrestrial life must be accomplished by 'following the kinetics', which is different from following the water or energy.

Character profiles and life satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hwanjin; Suh, Byung Seong; Kim, Won Sool; Lee, Hye-Kyung; Park, Seon-Cheol; Lee, Kounseok

2015-04-01

There is a surge of interest in subjective well-being (SWB), which concerns how individuals feel about their happiness. Life satisfaction tends to be influenced by individual psychological traits and external social factors. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between individual character and SWB. Data from 3522 university students were analyzed in this study. Character profiles were evaluated using the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised Short version (TCI-RS). Life satisfaction was assessed using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). All statistical tests regarding the correlations between each character profile and life satisfaction were conducted using ANOVAs, t-tests, multiple linear regression models and correlation analyses. The creative (SCT) profile was associated with the highest levels of life satisfaction, whereas the depressive (sct) profile was associated with the lowest levels of life satisfaction. Additionally, high self-directedness, self-transcendence and cooperation were associated with high life satisfaction. The results of gender-adjusted multiple regression analysis showed that the effects of self-directedness were the strongest in the assessment of one's quality of life, followed by self-transcendence and cooperativeness, in that order. All of the three-character profiles were significantly correlated with one's quality of life, and the character profiles of TCI-RS explained 27.6% of life satisfaction in total. Among the three-character profiles, the self-directedness profile was most associated with life satisfaction. Our study was cross-sectional, and self-reported data from students at a single university were analyzed. The results of this study showed that, among the character profiles, the effects of self-directedness were the strongest for predicting life satisfaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterizing the Life Stressors of Children of Alcoholic Parents

OpenAIRE

Hussong, Andrea M.; Bauer, Daniel J.; Huang, Wenjing; Chassin, Laurie; Sher, Kenneth J.; Zucker, Robert A.

2008-01-01

The current study examined differences between children of alcoholic (COAs) and non-alcoholic parents in their experience of negative life events across three, longitudinal studies together spanning the first three decades of life. We posited that COAs would differ from their peers in the life domains in which they are vulnerable to stressors, in the recurrence of stressors, and in the severity of stressors. Scale- and item-level analyses of adjusted odds-ratios based on stressors across seve...

Assessment of quality of life by clinicians experience of a practical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective. To evaluate a practical method (brief scale) of assessing the quality of life in patients with lung cancer. Design. To compare the scores obtained by means of the brief scale with those obtained on formal tests. The brief scale consists of an Outlook score (measuring psychological status) and a Support score ...

Estimation of quality of life in haemodialysis patients.

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Abraham, S; Ramachandran, A

2012-11-01

Since haemodialysis is an expensive treatment modality for chronic renal failure patients, it is very essential to assess the outcome of therapy in terms of quality of life. The primary objective of the study was to estimate the effect of patient counselling in quality of life of end stage renal disease patients opting haemodialysis using World Health Organisation Quality of life scale and to assess the variables affecting the quality of life of these patients. Quality of life was determined by World Health Organisation Quality of life scale questionnaire comprised of 26 items which measures four domains: physical, psychological, social and environmental domain. A total of 81 patients were selected and divided into test and control group and the test group patients received counselling regarding their disease, use of medications, importance of adherence and the complications experienced during and after dialysis. The quality of life data was collected at the interval of 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months and the patients were counselled at each interval. The demographic profiles revealed that majority of the patients were in the age group of 31-50 and there exists a male predominance. About the socioeconomic status, upper middle class people were mostly affected. Assessment of impact of patient counselling in the quality of life of haemodialysis indicated a significant improvement in each domain after counselling. And also found that the psychological domain showed a significant increase in the score compared to others. Patient counselling helped to gain benefits in terms of improvement in quality of life and delayed progression of renal failure. Early recognition and prevention is necessary to improve the quality of life of chronic renal failure patients. Patient counselling should be made mandatory by incorporating clinical pharmacist in the nephrology team to make the patient understand his illness and modifications in lifestyle also create a positive environment and

[Suicide among the French National Police forces: Implication of life events and life trajectories].

Science.gov (United States)

Encrenaz, G; Miras, A; Contrand, B; Séguin, M; Moulki, M; Queinec, R; René, J-S; Fériot, A; Mougin, M; Bonfils, M; Marien, P; Michel, G; Lagarde, E

2016-08-01

Research indicates that suicide rates are high among members of law enforcement. Our objectives were: (1) to determine life events implicated in suicide mortality among French law enforcement; and (2) to describe the different life trajectories of police officers who deceased by suicide. All suicides of police officers which occurred during 2008 (n=49) were explored using the psychological autopsy method. Key informants were: a supervisor, a colleague and a member of the family or a close friend. Each of them were interviewed by trained psychologists using standardized questionnaires exploring: sociodemographic characteristics, life events, social integration and support, health service use, mental health with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview short form (CIDI-SF), occupational stress with the Spielberger Inventory, impulsiveness with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and aggressiveness with the Brown-Goodwin Lifetime Aggression Scale. Information was then summarized in a timetable life trajectory of all life areas. All cases were finally appraised by at least two experts in order to identify the determinants of the suicide and to determine psychiatric diagnoses. For each period of time, a burdensomeness score was determined, from 6 (no adversity) to 1 (adversities in each sphere of life). Of the 49 cases of suicide, two were excluded and 39 were investigated and appraised (response rate: 39/47=83%). Eighty-two percent of the suicide cases were men and the mean age at death was 35years. In more than half of the cases, police officers used their service weapon to commit suicide. All deceased police officers were suffering from mental health symptoms (primarily depression). Of them, two thirds had used healthcare for this distress. The main other cause of suicide was problems in the married life (70% of the cases). Four distinct types of life trajectories of adversities could be identified by a qualitative analysis. It is the first time such a study was

Quality of life in people with Parkinson's disease: the relevance of social relationships and communication.

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Takahashi, Kayoko; Kamide, Naoto; Suzuki, Makoto; Fukuda, Michinari

2016-01-01

[Purpose] Maintaining high quality of life is crucial for the rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson's disease. The quality of life scales currently in use do not assess all quality of life domains or their importance for each individual. Therefore, a new quality of life measure, the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life-Direct Weighting, was used to investigate quality of life in people with Parkinson's disease. [Subjects and Methods] Fifteen people with idiopathic Parkinson's disaese (average age = 80.0 years, standard deviation = 10.3 years, Hoehn & Yahr stages 1-4) were interviewed using the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life-Direct Weighting. Its quality of life constructs were tested by comparing them against disease-specific quality of life (39-items Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire), motor functioning (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III), and activities of daily living (Barthel Index). [Results] Social connections such as "family" and "friends" were revealed as important constructs of life satisfaction. The Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life-Direct Weighting was not significantly correlated with the 39-items Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III, or Barthel Index but was significantly correlated with the "communication" dimension of the 39-items Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire. [Conclusion] The Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life-Direct Weighting detected various domains of quality of life, especially social relationships with family and friends. "Being heard" was also revealed as an essential component of life satisfaction, as it provides patients with a feeling of acceptance and assurance, possibly resulting in better quality of life.

A rating scale is a proper method to evaluate changes in quality of life due to dry eye symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Wenwen; Xu, Xian; Zou, Haidong

2018-02-07

To determine which utility value assessment method is more suitable to evaluate changes in the quality of life due to dry eye symptoms. Dry eye outpatients with a presenting visual acuity of 20/25 or better in the worse-seeing eye were recruited. Presenting distance visual acuity, tear film break-up time, Schirmer I test and fluorescein were assessed. The severity of dry eye symptoms was assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), and utility values were measured using the time trade-off (TTO), standard gamble (SG1 and SG2) and rating scale (RS) methods. Different utility values were compared with each other. The most appropriate utility value method to evaluate quality-of-life changes solely due to dry eye symptoms is determined by calculating the correlation between the OSDI score and different utility values. A total of 104 patients were enrolled. The three sections of OSDI in the order of high to low scores were as follows: "environmental trigger," "eye discomfort" and "visual function." The utility scores measured with TTO, SG1, SG2 and RS were 0.95 ± 0.11, 0.96 ± 0.10, 0.99 ± 0.07 and 0.89 ± 0.10, respectively. The utility scores evaluated by the TTO, SG1, SG2 and RS methods were significantly different from each other (p eye discomfort" section scores (p dry eye symptoms.

Technical, hygiene, economic, and life cycle assessment of full-scale moving bed biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Anju; Kamble, Sheetal Jaisingh; Sawant, Megha; Chakravarthy, Yogita; Kazmi, Absar; Aymerich, Enrique; Starkl, Markus; Ghangrekar, Makarand; Philip, Ligy

2018-01-01

Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) is a highly effective biological treatment process applied to treat both urban and industrial wastewaters in developing countries. The present study investigated the technical performance of ten full-scale MBBR systems located across India. The biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solid, pathogens, and nutrient removal efficiencies were low as compared to the values claimed in literature. Plant 1 was considered for evaluation of environmental impacts using life cycle assessment approach. CML 2 baseline 2000 methodology was adopted, in which 11 impact categories were considered. The life cycle impact assessment results revealed that the main environmental hot spot of this system was energy consumption. Additionally, two scenarios were compared: scenario 1 (direct discharge of treated effluent, i.e., no reuse) and scenario 2 (effluent reuse and tap water replacement). The results showed that scenario 2 significantly reduce the environmental impact in all the categories ultimately decreasing the environmental burden. Moreover, significant economic and environmental benefits can be obtained in scenario 2 by replacing the freshwater demand for non-potable uses. To enhance the performance of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), there is a need to optimize energy consumption and increase wastewater collection efficiency to maximize the operating capacity of plant and minimize overall environmental footprint. It was concluded that MBBR can be a good alternative for upgrading and optimizing existing municipal wastewater treatment plants with appropriate tertiary treatment. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Post-traumatic stress syndrome in a large sample of older adults: determinants and quality of life.

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Lamoureux-Lamarche, Catherine; Vasiliadis, Helen-Maria; Préville, Michel; Berbiche, Djamal

2016-01-01

The aims of this study are to assess in a sample of older adults consulting in primary care practices the determinants and quality of life associated with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS). Data used came from a large sample of 1765 community-dwelling older adults who were waiting to receive health services in primary care clinics in the province of Quebec. PTSS was measured with the PTSS scale. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were used as potential determinants of PTSS. Quality of life was measured with the EuroQol-5D-3L (EQ-5D-3L) EQ-Visual Analog Scale and the Satisfaction With Your Life Scale. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to study the presence of PTSS and different measures of health-related quality of life and quality of life as a function of study variables. The six-month prevalence of PTSS was 11.0%. PTSS was associated with age, marital status, number of chronic disorders and the presence of an anxiety disorder. PTSS was also associated with the EQ-5D-3L and the Satisfaction with Your Life Scale. PTSS is prevalent in patients consulting in primary care practices. Primary care physicians should be aware that PTSS is also associated with a decrease in quality of life, which can further negatively impact health status.

Acceptance of illness and satisfaction with life among malaria patients in rivers state, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Damme-Ostapowicz, Katarzyna; Krajewska-Kułak, Elżbieta; Nwosu, Paul J C; Kułak, Wojciech; Sobolewski, Marek; Olszański, Romuald

2014-05-03

Health condition is one of the basic factors affecting satisfaction with life, and the level of illness acceptance. The purpose of the study was to analyse the level of illness acceptance, the level of satisfaction with life among malaria patients, and the level of trust placed in the physician and the nurse. The study employs the method of diagnostic survey based on standardised AIS and SWLS scales, as well as Anderson and Dedrick's PPTS and PNTS scales. The average AIS level was 12 points, while the average level of SwL at the SWLS scale was 16.5 points. The average level of trust in the physician and the nurse amounted to 50.6 points and 51.4 points, respectively. The correlation between the level of illness acceptance and self-evaluated satisfaction with life was statistically significant, with R = 0.56. The marital status influenced the level of illness acceptance with p satisfaction with life with p employment status affected the level of satisfaction with life with p satisfaction with life was low. The majority of respondents trusted their physician and nurse. There is a statistically significant correlation between the level of illness acceptance and the self-evaluated satisfaction with life. The marital status had a statistically significant effect on the acceptance of illness and the satisfaction with life. The individuals who had a job demonstrated higher levels of quality of life and illness acceptance.

Work–Life Interventions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

He Lu Calvin Ong

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Despite disparities in the conceptualization of work–life balance (WLB and work–life harmony (WLH in the literature, there remains no evidence till date to validate these differences. Furthermore, there are currently no insights that shed light on the relationship between work–life initiatives and key business strategies of contemporary organizations. Hence, the current study investigated the differences between the constructs of WLB and WLH using a cognitive dissonance approach and assessed the impact of work–life interventions, based on these approaches, on individual creativity at work. Hundred participants, age ranging from 18 to 32 years (M = 23.94, SD = 3.87, with at least 6 months of working experience were recruited. Using an online questionnaire, participants were randomly assigned into WLB (n = 55 or WLH (n = 45 conditions. Participants were tasked to complete pre- and post-intervention measures of individual creativity, as well as a manipulation check using a cognitive dissonance scale. Results showed that participants in the WLB condition elicit higher levels of cognitive dissonance compared with participants in the WLH condition. This indicates an implicit difference in the constructs of WLB and harmony. Second, findings also suggest that work–life interventions adopting a WLH approach will have a more positive impact on individuals’ creativity at work compared with interventions targeted at achieving balance. Research, practical, and cultural implications of the findings are discussed in the article.

Perceived quality of life in obsessive-compulsive disorder: related factors

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Saiz-Ruiz Jeronimo

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD affects young adults and has great impact on the social, emotional and work spheres. Methods We measured perceived quality of life (QOL in OCD patients, in order to analyse socio-demographic and clinical factors that may be associated with QOL perception. 64 OCD outpatients were assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for DSM-IV, the Yale-Brown Obsessions and Compulsions scale (Y-BOCS, Hamilton's depression scale and the SF-36 self-administered global QOL perception scale. Results We found a correlation among Hamilton's scale scores and all SF-36 subscales. The severity of the obsessive-compulsive disorder was correlated with all SF-36 subscales and with the highest scores in Hamilton's scale. The obsessions subscale was correlated to all SF-36 subscales, while the compulsions subscale was correlated only to social functioning, emotional role, mental health and vitality. Compulsions were not related to general health perception. There were significant differences between OCD patients and the Spanish general population in all SF-36 subscales except those related to physical health and pain. Gender, age, age of onset of the disorder, years of evolution and marital status of the patients did not significantly affect quality of life perception. Being employed was related to better scores in the subscale of physical role. Patients with medical comorbidity scored lower in the subscales of general health, social functioning and mental health. Patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders had worse scores in the subscales of pain, general health, social functioning and mental health. Conclusion Quality of life perception was different in OCD patients and the general population. Quality of life perception was related to severity of the disorder, physical and psychiatric comorbidity and employment status.

Spiritual Growth or Decline and Meaning-Making as Mediators of Anxiety and Satisfaction with Life During Religious Struggle.

Science.gov (United States)

Zarzycka, Beata; Zietek, Pawel

2018-03-14

A number of studies have demonstrated links between spiritual struggles and health problems. As yet, however, only a few studies have investigated what makes religious struggle a source of mental problems or a source of well-being. We determined whether spiritual growth, spiritual decline, and meaning-making mediated the relationship between religious struggle and anxiety and satisfaction with life. Of the 180 respondents, 92 were women, and mean (SD) age was 24 (8.2) years. Each respondent completed the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale, the Meaning-Making Scale, the Spiritual Transformation Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Religious struggle correlated positively with anxiety and negatively with satisfaction with life. Spiritual growth mediated the relationship between moral and demonic struggle with satisfaction with life, and spiritual decline mediated the relationship between demonic, moral, and interpersonal struggle with anxiety. Finally, meaning-making mediated the relationship between religious doubt and satisfaction with life.

Enhancing College Students' Life Skills through Project Based Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Wurdinger, Scott; Qureshi, Mariam

2015-01-01

This study examined whether life skills could be developed in a Project Based Learning (PBL) course. The participants were students enrolled in a graduate level PBL course. The same 35-question survey was given to students at the beginning and end of the course, and students were asked to rank their life skills using a Likert scale. Additionally,…

[Drug Addiction Self-Help Recovery scale (DASH-scale): an approach to the measurement of recovery from drug addiction in self-help program among drug addicts].

Science.gov (United States)

Shimane, Takuya; Misago, Chizuru

2004-12-01

The purpose of the study was to develop a scale for measuring the recovery in self-help program for drug addicts. Our study sites were fourteen self-help groups for drug addicts called "DARC: Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center". DARC activities were based on Narcotics Anonymous types of self-help program. The 25-items DASH-scale questionnaire was developed using data, which were obtained through in-depth interview among DARC staff. A cross-sectional study among recovering addicts participating in "DARC" activities was implemented from Jan 2004 to Feb 2004. 164 subjects were responded to our questionnaire. Factor analysis was carried out and items with weaker or split loadings were removed. Factor analysis of DASH-scale results produced a surprisingly clean four-factor solution. 19-items were left to form the final DASH-scale; regular life-style (6 items), acceptance of drug addiction (5 items), sympathy with member (5 items), reborn (3 items). The internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha) of these scales was very high (0.87). Low but significant concurrent correlations were observed between the DASH-scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (0.22), Purpose in Life Test (0.35). Discriminant validity of the DASH-scale was supported by significant increase with exposed period of self-help program. Evidence supports the DASH-scale was possible to measure recovery in self-help program.

Musculoskeletal Pain and Quality of Life Among Obese Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erkan Mesci

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The objective of the present study was to explore associations between obesity and musculoskeletal pain, quality of life (QoL, depression and physical activity level among children. Material and Method: The study enrolled 40 children diagnosed with obesity at endocrinology outpatient clinics and a control group of healthy children with normal body mass index. Presence of musculoskeletal pain was questioned. Children allocated in both groups were administered the Quality of Life Scale for Children, the Depression Scale for Children and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form.Results: There was no difference between obese children and control group with respect to mean age and sex distribution. Obese children were found to have a higher frequency of musculoskeletal pain compared to control group (p < 0.01. Scores for physical function and psychosocial health domains of the QoL scale were significantly low among obese children (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively. Study groups did not show differences in emotional function domain of the QoL scale and depression scale. Although both groups were similar with regard to physical activity level, obese children were found to spend significantly longer time sitting during the day (p

Development of an Enhanced Generic Data Mining Life Cycle (DMLC)

OpenAIRE

Hofmann, Markus; Tierney, Brendan

2017-01-01

Data mining projects are complex and have a high failure rate. In order to improve project management and success rates of such projects a life cycle is vital to the overall success of the project. This paper reports on a research project that was concerned with the life cycle development for large scale data mining projects. The paper provides a detailed view of the design and development of a generic data mining life cycle called DMLC. The life cycle aims to support all members of data mini...

Hubungan Self Esteem dengan Life Satisfaction Pada Penyintas Bencana Erupsi Gunung Sinabung yang Bersuku Karo

OpenAIRE

Ginting, Yogi Pranata

2017-01-01

In this research we have examined the relation beetween Self esteem and life satisfaction on karonese the victims of Mount Sinabung’s eruption. This research involves 201 sample from 5 evacuation post eruption of Mount Sinabung. Measuring instrument used in this study is the scale of Satisfaction With Life Scale were collated Dinner and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale developed by Miller Rosenberg. This study uses Person product moment with the results of the hypothesis test showed a positive rel...

Mother - Daughter Relationship’s links to Daughter’s Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction

OpenAIRE

ONAYLI, Selin; ERDUR-BAKER, Özgür