Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Measurement of quality of life in schizophrenia: a comparison of two scales
Yvette Kusel1, Richard Laugharne, Sian Perrington
1St Charles Hospital, London, UK.
Background:
People with schizophrenia have an impaired quality of life (QoL), and various QoL assessment scales are available. However it is not clear which scale should be used in different situations. We aimed to compare a patient-rated subjective QoL scale with an observer-rated QoL scale by measuring their degree of correlation and their respective associative profiles with outcome measures.
Method:
Patients of the UK Schizophrenia Care and Assessment Program completed a patient-rated QoL questionnaire (MANSA). Research staff completed the observer-rated QoL tool (QLS) as part of an assessment of symptomatology and functioning.
Results:
The two QoL tools were moderately positively correlated (r = 0.39). Both scales were negatively correlated with positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and depressive symptoms, and positively correlated with functioning scores. However the two scales were influenced by different factors. The patient-rated QoL was more significantly influenced by depressive symptoms, and the observer-rated QoL was more heavily influenced by negative symptoms.
Conclusions:
Patient-rated and observer-rated QoL are moderately related, with a number of joint determinants, but the former is sensitive to depressive influences, whilst the latter is sensitive to the negative symptomatology of schizophrenia.
Related Concept Videos
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Self-Report Tests of Personality
Dimensions of Health and Illness
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison