Cross-national comparability of the WHOQOL-BREF: A measurement invariance approach

Theuns, Peter
Hofmans, Joeri
Mazaheri, Mehrdad
Van Acker, Frederik
Bernheim, Jan L.

¹Vakgroep Experimentele en Toegepaste Psychologie, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, EXTO, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussel, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]
²Research Group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]
³Department of Psychology, University of Sistan & Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran e-mail: [email protected]
⁴Present Address: Faculty of Psychology, Open Universiteit Nederland, PO Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected]
⁵Human Ecology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, MEKO, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussel, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]

Accepted: 20 January 2010/Published online: 19 December 2009

Quality of Life Research 19(2):p 219-224, March 2010. | DOI: 10.1007/s11136-009-9577-9

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate whether the WHOQOL-BREF measures the QOL construct in the same way across nations.

Methods

Students from Flanders, Belgium and Iran completed the WHOQOL-BREF as part of a larger Quality of Life questionnaire. Their responses were compared using a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis.

Results

In general, the QOL construct appears rather similar in both cultures; however, participants from both countries seem to respond differently to particular items of the WHOQOL-BREF. Especially for the physical and psychological domain, this is problematic, because none of their indicators works in the same way across samples.

Conclusions

Notwithstanding some limitations of this study, it must be concluded that the WHOQOL-BREF should only be used with great caution in cross-national comparisons.