Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire – PLQ
Measures positive health practices and lifestyle habits across multiple dimensions including nutrition, physical activity, safety, and social support.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire – PLQ was developed by Brown, N., Muhlenkamp, A., Fox, L., & Osborn, M. (1983). It is designed to measure Positive health practices. The scale is intended for use with Adults and adolescents.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 24 items organized into 7 factors/subscales: Nutrition, Social Support, Safety, Health Promotion, Exercise, Substance Use, Relaxation/Sleep.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Nutrition | 3,5,14,19,23 | 5 |
| Social Support | 2,6,18 | 3 |
| Safety | 4,7,8,12,20,24 | 6 |
| Health Promotion | 1,21,22 | 3 |
| Exercise | 10,11,17 | 3 |
| Substance Use | 13,16 | 2 |
| Relaxation/Sleep | 9,15 | 2 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Never, 2 = Occasionally, 3 = Frequently, 4 = Almost Always.
The scale includes 5 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 24 to 96. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low adherence to healthy lifestyle practices: 24 – 48
- Moderate adherence to healthy lifestyle practices: 49 – 72
- High adherence to healthy lifestyle practices: 73 – 96
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha ranges from 0.74 to 0.83.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.