Life Distress Inventory – LDI
Measures an individual's current level of distress across various areas of life, including social functioning, life satisfaction, finance/employment, and marital distress.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Life Distress Inventory – LDI was developed by Thomas, E. J., Yoshioka, M. R., & Ager, R. D. (1994). It is designed to measure Life Distress. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 18 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Social Functioning, Life Satisfaction, Finance and Employment, Marital Distress.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Social Functioning | 4,5,6,9,11,13,14,16 | 8 |
| Life Satisfaction | 10,12,15,17,18 | 5 |
| Finance and Employment | 7,8 | 2 |
| Marital Distress | 1,2,3 | 3 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = No distress, 2 = Very little distressed, 3 = Somewhat distressed, 4 = Moderately distressed, 5 = Very distressed, 6 = Extremely distressed, 7 = The most distress I’ve ever felt.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 18 to 126. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Distress: 18 – 54
- Moderate Distress: 55 – 90
- High Distress: 91 – 126
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Total LDI alpha: .89, Social Functioning alpha: .87, Life Satisfaction alpha: .82, Finance and Employment alpha: .77, Marital Distress alpha: .80.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.