Assessing Quality of Life of the Mentally Ill

The traditional quality of life (Q of L) model with objective indicators of life situations and satisfactions with these situations was expanded to include a third domain-adaptation-of self-esteem, affect states, and daily behavior. Interviews with 220 individuals who had two or more discharges from mental hospitals and who were living in the community provided data for this discussion of the threepart model. In the model, objective life situations were not associated with satisfaction and adaptation but satisfaction and adaptation were highly correlated. The threepart model will be useful in explaining the Q of L of community-based mentally ill and in evaluating community-based programs that purport to change their Q of L