Valuation of Life
LASA filenames:
LASA137 / LASA337
Contact: Dorly Deeg
Background
Life expectancy in developed counties has risen over the past century, increasing the number of adults over the age of 55. The change in demographics comes with several challenges, including the growing burden of chronic illnesses, injuries, and disabilities. In recent years research has focused on to which extent quality of life of older people is influenced by their health issues. One of the scales to measure quality of life has been developed by Lawton et al., (2001) . They developed a “Valuation of Life” scale, which they describe as “a small set of relatively global constructs that express the active embrace of life”.
Measurement instruments in LASA
The Valuation of Life scale consists of 19 questions, 13 positively and 9 negatively formulated about the value of life such as: ‘It is difficult for me to find meaning in a daily routine’. The response categories range from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). Positively formulated questions are recoded and the outcome transformed into a score on a Valuation of Life scale ranging from 0-95, a higher score indicating higher Valuation of Life.
Questionnaires
LASAE137 / LASAF137 (self-administered questionnaire, in Dutch)
Variable information
LASAE137 / LASAF137;
LASAE337 / LASAF337 (scale values)
(pdf)
Availability of information per wave ¹
| B | C | D | E | 2B* | F | G | H | 3B* | MB* | I | J | K | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation of life | - | - | - | Sa | - | Sa | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
¹ More information about the LASA data collection waves is available here.
* 2B=baseline second cohort;
3B=baseline third cohort;
MB=migrants: baseline first cohort
Sa=data collected in self-administered questionnaire
Previous use in LASA
The translation and an adaptation of the Valuation of Life scale has been examined (Knipscheer, van Schoor, Penninx, & Smit, 2008). In addition, the scale is used in a longitudinal study investigating whether well being in older adults changes due to persistent deterioration of functioning (Jonker, Comijs, Knipscheer, & Deeg, 2008).
References
- Jonker, A. A., Comijs, H. C., Knipscheer, K. C., & Deeg, D. J. (2008). Persistent Deterioration of Functioning (PDF) and change in well-being in older persons. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 20(5), 461-468.
- Knipscheer, K., van Schoor, N. M., Penninx, B., & Smit, J. H. (2008). Levenswaardering bij ouderen (LWO): de validering van een meetinstrument [Adaptation and validation of the Dutch translation of the “Valuation of Life”scale] Tijdschrift Voor Gerontologie En Geriatrie, 39(4), 133-145. In Dutch
- Lawton, M. P., Moss, M., Hoffman, C., Kleban, M. H., Ruckdeschel, K., & Winter, L. (2001). Valuation of Life A Concept and a Scale. Journal of Aging and Health, 13(1), 3-31.
Date of last update: August, 2014 (first version)
