Youth Quality of Life Instrument – Short Form (YQOL-SF)
Measures generic quality of life in youth ages 11-18 years across domains of sense of self, social relationships, environment, and general quality of life.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Youth Quality of Life Instrument – Short Form (YQOL-SF) was developed by Donald L. Patrick, T. Ron Edwards (2002). It is designed to measure Quality of Life. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents (ages 11-18).
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 15 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Sense of Self, Social Relationships, Environment, General Quality of Life.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Sense of Self | 1,2,4 | 3 |
| Social Relationships | 3,5,6,7,8,9,10 | 7 |
| Environment | 13,14 | 2 |
| General Quality of Life | 11,12,15 | 3 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Not at all, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5 = 5, 6 = 6, 7 = 7, 8 = 8, 9 = 9, 10 = Very much.
The scale includes 1 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Item scores are averaged to produce a mean score.
Total scores range from 0 to 100. Interpretation guidelines:
- Lower Quality of Life: 0 – 50
- Higher Quality of Life: 51 – 100
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha > 0.80 for all domains.
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.