Quality of life profile--adolescent version: assessing the relationship of covariates to scale scores using structural equation modeling

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of covariates on adolescent quality of life (QOL) using structural equation modeling (SEM). The Quality of Life Profile--Adolescent Version, a generic 54 item self-reported questionnaire, was administered to 363 adolescents aged between 10 and 18 years who were enrolled in 20 secondary schools within metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Previous results based on a second-order SEM provided preliminary support for measuring adolescent QOL in terms of physical health, psychological, social, environment and opportunities for growth and development. The second-order model is further enhanced in this study by incorporating covariates age, presence of a chronic condition, amount of control and perception of health. The amount of control the adolescent perceived had a significant positive impact on QOL, whereas poorer reports of health had a negative impact. However, the presence of a chronic condition was found to have little effect on QOL, while the modest inverse relationship between age and QOL was not statistically significant.