Abstract
The impact of interventions on the quality of life (QOL) experienced by persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses (SPMI) has attracted considerable political, clinical and research attention over the past decade, and continues to do so. This study examines the convergent validity of two commonly used QOL measures for this group of patients, the Lehman Quality of Life Interview and the Heinrichs-Carpenter Quality of Life Scale, computing the correlations between comparable constructs from the two measures administered at the same time and 2 months apart. Correlations were positive and significant although low to moderate in magnitude. Considering the considerable differences in the methods of assessment employed by the two measures, the lack of precise congruence between their constructs, and the 2-month time interval, these findings support their convergent validity. Various conceptual issues regarding the validity and interpretation of QOL assessments for persons with SPMI are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
GoldmanHH, LehmanAF, MorrisseyJP, NewmanSJ, FrankRG, SteinwachsDW. Design for the national evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program on chronic mental illness. Hosp Commun Psychiatry 1990; 41: 1217–1221.
LehmanA, WardN, LinnL. Chronic mental patients: The quality of life issue. Am J Psychiatry 1982; 10: 1271–1276.
SchulbergH, BrometE. Strategies for evaluating the outcome of community services for the chronically mentally ill. Am J Psychiatry 1981; 138: 930–935.
BakerF, IntagliataJ. Quality of life in the evaluation of community support systems. Eval Program Plann 1982; 5: 69–79.
LehmanAF. The well-being of chronic mental patients: Assessing their quality of life. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1983; 40: 369–373.
AttkissonC, CookJ, KarnoM, et al. Clinical services research. Schizophrenia Bull 1992; 18: 561–626.
LehmanAF, BurnsBJ. Severe mental illness in the community. In B.Spilker (ed), Quality of Life Assessments in Clinical Trials. New York: Raven Press, 1990: 357–366.
OliverJP, MohameadH. The quality of life of the chronically mentally ill. J Health Social Behav 1992; 22: 391–404.
AndrewsFM, WitheySB. Social Indicators of Well-Being. New York: Plenum Press, 1976.
BigelowDA, BrodskyG, StewardL, OlsonM. The concept and measurement of quality of life as a dependent variable in evaluation of mental health services. In: StahlerG, TashW, eds. Innovative Approaches to Mental Health Evaluation. New York: Academic Press, 1982: 345–366.
LehmanAF, PossidenteS, HawkerF. The quality of life of chronic mental patients in a state hospital and community residences. Hosp Commun Psychiatry 1986; 37: 901–907.
LehmanAF, SlaughterJC, MyersCP. The quality of life of chronically mentally ill persons in alternative residential settings. Psychiatric Q 1991; 62: 35–49.
LehmanAF. A quality of life interview for the chronically mentally ill. Eval Program Plann 1988; 11: 51–62.
HeinrichsDW, HanlonTE, CarpenterWT. The quality of life scale: An instrument for rating the schizophrenic deficit syndrome. Schizophrenia Bull 1984; 10: 388–398.
LehmanAF, SlaughterJC, MyersCP. Quality of life of the chronically mentally ill: Gender and decade of life effects. Eval Program Plann 1992; 15: 7–12.
SimpsonCJ, HydeCE, FaragherEB. The chronically mentally ill in community facilities: A study of quality of life. Br J Psychiatry 1989; 154: 77–82.
LevittAJ, HoganTP, BucoskyCM. Quality of life in chronically mentally ill patients in day treatment. Psychol Med 1990; 20: 703–710.
RosenfieldS, Neese-ToddS. Why model programs work: Factors predicting the subjective quality of life of the chronic mentally ill. Hosp Commun Psychiatry 1993; 44: 76–78.
LehmanAF. The effects of psychiatric symptoms on quality of life assessments among the chronic mentally ill. Eval Program Plann 1983; 6: 143–151.
SlaughterJC, LehmanAF. Quality of life of severely mentally ill adults in residential care facilities. Adult Residential Care J 1991; 5: 97–111.
DerogatisL. SCL-90-R: Administration, Scoring, and Procedures Manual-II. Maryland: Clinical Psychometric Research, 1983.
OverallJ, GorhamD. The brief psychiatric rating scale. Psychol Rep 1962; 10: 799–812.
CampbellD, FiskeDW. Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychol Bull 1959; 56; 81–105.
BigelowDA, GareauMJ, YoungDJ. A quality of life interview. Psychosoc Rehab J 1982; 14: 94–98.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This study was supported by the National Evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Program on Chronic Mental Illness.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lehman, A.F., Postrado, L.T. & Rachuba, L.T. Convergent validation of quality of life assessments for persons with severe mental illnesses. Qual Life Res 2, 327–333 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00449427
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00449427