World Health Organization Quality of Life – Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF)
A multi-dimensional self-report instrument developed to assess quality of life across physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The World Health Organization Quality of Life – Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) was developed by World Health Organization (1996). It is designed to measure Quality of Life. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 26 items organized into 5 factors/subscales: Physical Health, Psychological, Social Relationships, Environment, Overall Quality of Life.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Health | 3,4,10,15,16,17,18 | 7 |
| Psychological | 5,6,7,11,19,26 | 6 |
| Social Relationships | 20,21,22 | 3 |
| Environment | 8,9,12,13,14,23,24,25 | 8 |
| Overall Quality of Life | 1,2 | 2 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = 1 (e.g., Very poor / Not at all / Never), 2 = 2 (e.g., Poor / A little / Seldom), 3 = 3 (e.g., Neither / Moderate / Quite often), 4 = 4 (e.g., Good / Mostly / Very often), 5 = 5 (e.g., Very good / Completely / Always).
The scale includes 3 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 100. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Quality of Life: 0 – 49
- Moderate Quality of Life: 50 – 74
- High Quality of Life: 75 – 100
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 0.66 to 0.84 across 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.