Applicability, Internal Structure, and basic Patterns of a Multicultural Brief Quality of Life Measure in a Sample of Psychiatric Patients with Comorbid Substance Use Disorders

Main Article Content

Ihsan M. Salloum
Juan E. Mezzich
Levent Kirisci

Abstract

 Background: The measurement of quality of life as estimate of well being is assuming increasing importance in the evaluation of health and treatment efficacy.  Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the applicability, internal structure and clinical patterns of the Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI), a brief, self-rated, culturally informed, quality of life scale, in patients experiencing comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders.  Methods: Sixty-two consecutively admitted outpatients completed the MQLI. With this data, the applicability, internal consistency, factorial structure, and prediction of treatment adherence over a three-month period were assessed.   Results: It was found that the MQLI was easy to administer. It had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.89).  Factor analysis revealed that the first factor explained 53% of the variance, indicating the unidimensionality of the instrument around quality of life. Two MQLI items, interpersonal functioning and the availability of supports, significantly predicted treatment adherence. Conclusions: The MQLI is easy to use, it has a coherent structure, and is clinically useful in psychiatric patients with comorbid substance use disorders. 

Article Details

Section
Regular Articles
Author Biography

Ihsan M. Salloum, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL USA.

Ihsan Saloum, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Psychiatry and Chief, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse: Treatment and Research, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Salloum graduated from the University of Bologna School of Medicine, in Bologna, Italy and completed the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) post graduate fellowship program in alcohol research at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Salloum’s research interest has focused on developing effective interventions for comorbid mood and addictive disorders and on addressing the diagnostic and therapeutic complexity of comorbidity and on Person-centered Medicine. He has published on the treatment of co-occurring disorders and is a frequent speaker at National and International scientific meetings. Dr. Salloum is the recipient of grant awards from the National Institute of Health. He is a member of the National Institute of Health Scientific Review Group and a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with added Qualifications in Addiction Psychiatry. Dr. Salloum is Member of the Board of the Executive Committee of the International Network on Person Centered Medicine. He is also the Chair, Section on Classification Diagnostic Assessment and Nomenclature of the World Psychiatric Association, and he is also the Secretary of the International Society on Bipolar Disorders. Dr. Salloum is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and Honorary Member of the World Psychiatric Association.

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