Objective and subjective Quality of Life (QOL) of adolescents - Abstract

Abstract

Couch, R. (1999). Objective and subjective Quality of Life (QOL) of adolescents: Using the Centre for Health Promotion Model for QOL and The McCreary Centre Society Adolescent Health Survey. Thesis in fulfillment of the requirements for BA Honours in Psychology. Abstract: In this study, the relationship between the objective and subjective quality of life (QOF) of adolescents is explored. It was predicted that the subjective and objective QOL of adolescents would not be closely related (i.e. an adolescent’s personal feelings about an issue would not be closely related to objective circumstances), regardless of gender or age (12, 15, and 18 years). A scale was created using questions from the McCreary Centre Adolescent Health Survey based on the category of being from the Centre for Health Promotion Model for Quality of Life. Objective QOL items (e.g. health enhancing behaviours, risk taking behaviours, physical problems, psychological problems) and subjective QOL items were similarly formed, but had to be eliminated as a result of its low reliability. Instead 3 separated subjective categories were created: subjective health enhancing and weight behaviours category; subjective physical and psychological category, and a subjective spirituality category. Overall, there appeared to be a moderately positive correlation between objective total for QOL and subjective health enhancing behaviours and weight behaviours, a moderately negative relationship between objective total QOL and subjective physical and psychological condition, and no relationship between objective total QOL and subjective spirituality. This held true across different ages and for both genders, although the relative strength of these correlations varied.