Quality of Life Among Adolescents

Adolescent health has become an increasingly important focus for governments, foundations, and behavioural researchers. In contrast to other age groups, mortality and morbidity rates for 10-25 year olds in Western countries have been increasing the past few decades and there is increasing evidence that the health status of adolescents is not as high as was the case for their parents.

Why a Quality of Life Perspective?

Examining adolescent health and its determinants within a quality of life perspective achieves various aims that go beyond most other approaches.

A quality of life approach

• considers a broad range of determinants, including both psychological and societal aspects, thus identifying determinants of adolescent health which may not have been considered to date
• draws attention to determinants of health at a range of levels; specifically, personal factors such as attitudes and beliefs; community factors such as family, peers, employment, and schools; and structural factors such as income distribution, and educational and employment opportunities. Usually, research into the health of adolescents is limited to only one or two of these levels without considering level interrelationships.
• allows for consideration of multiple perspectives, in this case the views of adolescents, their parents, service providers, and government analysts among others, concerned with adolescent health. Consideration of the views of adolescents and those close to them helps put a human face on the determinants of health and healthy behaviour during adolescence.
• can be linked to health promotion and rehabilitation perspectives suggesting means of promoting positive health and healthy behaviours among adolescents.

The Centre for Health Promotion in cooperation with the School of Nursing, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada identified quality of life issues through direct dialogue with adolescents. Based on focus groups with Ontario adolescents, the literature on adolescent concerns and the quality of life framework presented earlier, a 54 item Quality of Life Profile - Adolescents' Version was developed and validated in the Spring of 1995.

The study found that Quality of Life scores were related to adolescent drinking and smoking as well as to adolescent perceptions of their current happiness and future opportunities*. Specific areas of adolescent concerns were identified, and information concerning the psychometric integrity of the instruments was obtained.

Items in the Quality of Life Profile: Adolescent Version

Each Domain Item is rated for Importance and Satisfaction. The listed items are a sampling of those contained in the questionnaire.

*Results of the Quality of Life Among Adolescents project were published in:

Raphael, D., Rukholm, E., Brown, I., Hill-Bailey, P., & Donato, E. (1996). The quality of life profile-Adolescent version: Background, description, and initial validation. Journal of Adolescent Health, 19(5), 366-375.

A reprint of this article is also available from the Quality of Life Research Unit (see the Publications page).