Cross-cultural study of person-centred quality of life domains and indicators: a replication.
Quality of life keeps the same backbone across four European cultures, so you can use one survey everywhere and just tweak the extras.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers gave the Cross Cultural Survey of Quality of Life Indicators to 781 adults with intellectual disability. They came from four European countries.
The team wanted to see if quality of life means the same thing across cultures.
What they found
Some parts of quality of life showed up in every country. Other parts were special to each culture.
The survey still worked well, so clinicians can keep using it.
How this fits with other research
Nevin et al. (2005) wrote the rule book on picking QOL tools. Hatton et al. (2005) proved those rules hold up across borders.
Schalock (2004) warned that culture shapes QOL. This study shows culture does shape some details, but the main ideas stay the same.
Papageorgiou et al. (2008) found the same split of autism traits in Greek and Western kids. Both papers back the idea that core constructs travel well, even if local flavor varies.
Why it matters
You can trust the Cross Cultural Survey when you serve adults from different backgrounds. Use the full tool to catch universal needs, then add local questions for culture-specific goals. This saves you from remaking forms for every new client who moves into your area.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The increased use of the quality of life (QOL) concept internationally suggests the need to evaluate its etic (universal) and emic (culture-bound) properties. This study replicated and expanded a previous cross-cultural study on QOL. METHOD: The three respondent groups (consumers, parents and professionals; total n = 781) were from four European countries: France, Belgium, Italy and Poland. The Cross Cultural Survey of Quality of Life Indicators was used to assess the importance and use of eight core dimensions of QOL. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) the etic properties would be demonstrated if there were similar profiles for the respondent and geographical groups, and if indicators grouped into the proposed QOL domains; and (2) the emic properties would be demonstrated if there were significant differences on scores across groups. RESULTS: Results supported both hypotheses. CONCLUSION: The present study replicated the findings of a large cross-cultural study that the QOL construct has both etic and emic properties.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2005 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2005.00742.x