Background: The Health-Related Quality of Life for Drug Abusers (HRQoLDA) test was designed to specifically evaluate quality of life among substance users. In this study, the validity and reliability of the English version of the HRQoLDA test are reported for the first time. Methods: A sample of 121 participants from inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities completed the HRQoLDA test. Results: The mean HRQoLDA score was 45.9 (SD = 16.9), while the overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.905. The factorial analysis of the HRQoLDA test revealed a unidimensional structure. Convergent validity analyses demonstrated significant correlations between the HRQoLDA test scores and the scores of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Bref Questionnaire in different dimensions. Conclusion: The results revealed that the HRQoLDA was successfully adapted to English. The HRQoLDA is a reliable research instrument for evaluating quality of life of substance users.

1.
Lohr KN: Assessing health status and quality-of-life instruments: attributes and review criteria. Qual Life Res 2002;11:193–205.
2.
Wong JG, Cheung EP, Chen EY, Chan RC, Law CW, Lo MS, Leung KF, Lam CL: An instrument to assess mental patients’ capacity to appraise and report subjective quality of life. Qual Life Res 2005;14:687–694.
3.
Globe DR, Hays RD, Cunningham WE: Associations of clinical parameter with health-related quality of life in hospitalized persons with HIV disease. AIDS Care 1999;11:71–86.
4.
The WHOQOL Group: Development of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. Psychol Med 1998;28:551–558.
5.
Khushf G: An agenda for future debate on concepts of health and disease. Med Health Care Philos 2007;10:19–27.
6.
Gill TM, Feinstein AR: A critical appraisal of the quality of quality-of-life measurements. JAMA 1994;272:619–626.
7.
Ware JEJ: Scales for measuring general health perceptions. Health Serv Res 1976;11:396–415.
8.
Croog S, Levine S: Quality of Life and Healthcare Interventions. New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1989.
9.
Guyatt GH: A taxonomy of health status instruments. J Rheumatol 1995;22:1188–1190.
10.
Castillo I, Poo M, Alonso I: Evaluation of the SF-36 Health Index applied to methadone maintenance program users. Rev Esp Salud Publica 2004;78:609–621.
11.
Ruggeri M, Gater R, Bisoffi G, Barbui C, Tansella M: Determinants of subjective quality of life in patients attending community-based mental health services. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2002;105:131–140.
12.
Lasalvia A, Bonetto C, Malchiodi F, Salvi G, Parabiaghi A, Tansella M, Ruggeri M: Listening to patients’ needs to improve their subjective quality of life. Psychol Med 2005;35:1655–1665.
13.
De Maeyer J, Vanderplasschen W, Lammertyn J, van Nieuwenhuizen C, Broekaert E: Exploratory study on domain-specific determinants of opiate-dependent individuals’ quality of life. Eur Addict Res 2011;17:198–210.
14.
Frischknecht U, Beckmann B, Heinrich M, Kniest A, Nakovics H, Klefer F, et al: The vicious circle of perceived stigmatization, depressiveness, anxiety, and low quality of life in substituted heroin addicts. Eur Addict Res 2011;17:241–249.
15.
Torrens M, Domingo-Salvany A, Alonso J, Castillo C, San L: Methadone and quality of life. Lancet 1999;353:1101.
16.
Giacomuzzi SM, Riemer Y, Ertl M, Kemmler G, Rössler H, Hinterhuber H, Kurz M: Buprenorphine versus methadone maintenance treatment in an ambulant setting: a health-related quality of life assessment. Addiction 2003;98:693–702.
17.
Morales-Manrique CC, Castellano-Gómez M, Valderrama Zurián J, Aleixandre Benavent R: Quality of life measurement and the importance of attention to self-perceived needs among drug dependent patients. Transtornos Adictivos 2006;8:212–221.
18.
Revicki DA, Osoba D, Fairclough D, Barofsky I, Berzon R, Leidy NK, Rothman M: Recommendations on health-related quality of life research to support labeling and promotional claims in the United States. Qual Life Res 2000;9:887–900.
19.
Morales-Manrique CC, Valderrama-Zurián JC, Castellano-Gómez M, Aleixandre-Benavent R, Palepu A, Cocaine Group CV: Cross cultural adaptation of the Injection Drug User Quality Of Life Scale (IDUQOL) in Spanish drug dependent population, with or without injectable consumption: Drug User Quality of Life Scale-Spanish (DUQOL-Spanish). Addict Behav 2007;32:1913–1921.
20.
Lozano Rojas O, Rojas Tajeda A, Pérez Meléndez C: Development of a specific health-related quality of life test in drug abusers using the Rasch rating scale model. Eur Addict Res 2009;15:63–70.
21.
World Health Organization: WHOQOL: Measuring Quality of Life. Programme on Mental Health, Division of Mental Health and Prevention of Substance Use. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1997.
22.
Zubaran CFK: Quality of life and substance use: concepts and recent tendencies. Curr Opin Psychiatry 2009;22:281–286.
23.
Lozano OM RA, Pérez C, González-Sáiz F, Ballesta R, Izaskun B: Evidencias de validez del test para la evaluación de la calidad de vida en adictos a sustancias psicoactivas a partir del modelo biaxial de la adicción. Psicothema 2008;20:317–323.
24.
American Psychological Association, American Educational Research National Council on Measurement in Education: Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, American Psychological Association, 1999.
25.
Arocho R, McMillan CA: Discriminant and criterion validation of the US-Spanish version of the SF-36 Health Survey in a Cuban-American population with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Med Care 1998;36:766–772.
26.
National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre: Illicit drug use in Australia: Epidemiology, Use Patterns and Associated Harm. Barton, National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, 2007.
27.
Judd F, Jackson H, Komiti A, Murray G, Hodgins G, Fraser C: High prevalence disorders in urban and rural communities. Aust NZ J Psychiatry 2002;36:104–113.
28.
Cella D, Hernandez L, Bonomi AE, Corona M, Vaquero M, Shiomoto G, et al: Spanish language translation and initial validation of the functional assessment of cancer therapy quality-of-life instrument. Med Care 1998;36:1407–1418.
29.
Judd F: Only martyrs need apply: why people should avoid isolated psychiatry. Comment. Australas Psychiatry 2003;11:459–460.
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.