A validation study of the English version of the AlQol 9 to measure quality of life

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is an important clinical and research outcome within the drug and alcohol abuse context. The AlQoL 9 is a specific questionnaire designed to assess health- and non-health-related consequences of alcoholism. The English version of the AlQoL 9 has not been validated using a larger sample. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the English version of AlQoL 9 in a sample of treatment-seeking individuals in Australia. Methods: A sample of 138 participants from inpatient and outpatient treatments facilities completed the AlQoL 9 test and the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Assessment-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF). The study's investigative parameters included the demographic characteristics of the sample, internal structure, and convergent validity. Furthermore, correlations between the AlQoL 9 scale scores and the scores obtained from the WHOQOL-BREF test were investigated using Pearson product-moment correlation analyses. Results: The English version of the AlQoL 9 attained a significant Cronbach's alpha of 0.825. The mean score obtained in the test was 21.92 (SD=6.79). Using Varimax rotation, the AlQoL 9 yielded one principal factor that had accounted for 37.85% of variance. Convergent validity analysis demonstrated significant correlations (p<0.001) between the AlQoL 9 scores and the scores of all four dimensions of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that the English version of the AlQoL 9 constitutes a valid and reliable research instrument for evaluating quality of life among alcohol-dependent individuals.