Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Quality of Life Research
Published in: Quality of Life Research 4/2015

01-04-2015 | Brief Communication

Measuring quality of life with fuzzy numbers: in the perspectives of reliability, validity, measurement invariance, and feasibility

Authors: Po-Yi Chen, Grace Yao

Published in: Quality of Life Research | Issue 4/2015

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

Purpose

Fuzzy set theory (FST) can improve various aspects of measurement with questionnaires. However, very little is known about how to use FST to measure quality of life (QOL). The main purpose of our study was to find an appropriate fuzzy measure for QOL that, while demonstrating the advantages of FST, can also be compared with mainstream QOL measures, most of which use traditional Likert-type scales.

Methods

Referring to the literature on fuzzy scoring methods, we first revised the measurement scale and scoring method of the traditional WHOQOL-BREF (i.e., a five-point Likert-type scale) to create three versions of a fuzzy WHOQOL-BREF. Then, we examined the psychometric relationships of these three fuzzy measures and the traditional WHOQOL-BREF in a within-subject design.

Results

Our results show that a fuzzy-scales weighted-by-membership (FSWM) version of the WHOQOL-BREF is comparable to the traditional WHOQOL-BREF in that it accepts strong invariance and shows almost perfect agreement. It also demonstrates higher reliability and face validity than the traditional WHOQOL-BREF.

Conclusion

We recommend that future studies examine the use of FSWM to measure QOL.
next article Factor analyses of a social support scale using two methods

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Literature
1.
Neisser, U. (1967). Cognitive psychology. New York: Aooletion-Centry-Crofts.
2.
Rabius, P. V., & Black, B. S. (2007). Measuring quality of life in dementia: Purposes, goals, challenges and progress. International Psychogeriatrics, 19(3), 401–407.CrossRef
3.
Schneider, S. (2001). In search of realistic optimism: Meaning, knowledge, and warm fuzziness. American Psychologist, 56, 250–263.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Smithson, M. (1987). Fuzzy set analysis for behavior and social science. New York: Springer.CrossRef
5.
Brown, S. J., & Morley, A. M. (2007). Risk perception, fuzzy representations and comparative optimism. British Journal of Psychology, 98, 578–587.CrossRef
6.
Matt, G. E., Turingan, M. R., Dinh, Q. T., Felsch, J. A., Hovell, M. F., & Gehrman, C. (2003). Improving self-reports of drug-use: Numeric estimates as fuzzy sets. Addiction, 98, 1239–1247.CrossRefPubMed
7.
8.
Yu, S. C., & Yu, M. M. (2007). Fuzzy partial credit scaling: A more valid approach to scoring beck depression inventory II. Social Behavior and Personality, 35(9), 1163–1172.CrossRef
9.
Pryor, R. G., Hesketh, B., & Gleitzman, M. (1989). Making things clearer by making them fuzzy: Counseling illustrations of a fuzzy graphic rating scale. The Career Development Quarterly, 38(2), 136–147.CrossRef
10.
11.
Schwartz, C. E., & Rapkin, B. D. (2004). Reconsidering the psychometrics of quality of life assessment in light of response shift and appraisal. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2, 16–27.CrossRefPubMedCentralPubMed
12.
O’Leary, T. E., Diller, L., & Recklitis, C. J. (2007). The effects of response bias on self-reported quality of life among childhood cancer survivors. Quality of Life Research, 16, 1211–1220.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Hesketh, B., Pryor, R., & Gleitzman, M., & Hesketh, T. (1988). Practical applications and psychometric evaluation of a computerized fuzzy graphic ration scale. In: T. Zetenyi (Eds.), Fuzzy Sets in Psychology (pp. 425–454). Amsterdam: Elsevier, North-Holland.
14.
Lin, Y. H. (2002). The construction of fuzzy linguistics numbers for questionnaire and its empirical study. Survey Research-Method and Application, 11, 31–68.
15.
Costas, C. S. L., Maranon, P. P., & Cabrera, J. A. H. (1994). Application of diffuse measurement to the evaluation of psychological structures. Quality and Quantity, 28(3), 305–313.CrossRef
16.
The WHOQOL-Taiwan Group. (2005). The User’s Manual of the Development of the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan Version (2nd ed.). Taipei: Taiwan WHOQOL Group.
17.
Muthen, L. K., & Muthen, B. O. (2002). How to use a Monte Carlo study to decide on sample size and determine power. Structural Equation Modeling, 4, 599–620.CrossRef
18.
Beauducel, A., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2006). On the performance of maximum likelihood versus means and variance adjusted weighted least squares estimation in CFA. Structural Equation Modeling, 13(2), 186–203.CrossRef
19.
Rhemtulla, M., Brosseau-Liard, P. É., & Savalei, V. (2012). When can categorical variables be treated as continuous? A comparison of robust continuous and categorical SEM estimation methods under suboptimal conditions. Psychological Methods, 17(3), 354–373.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Meade, A. W., & Kroustalis, C. M. (2006). Problem with item parceling for confirmatory factor analytic tests of measurement invariance. Organizational Research Methods, 9(3), 369–403.CrossRef
21.
Hollen, P. J., Gralla, R. J., Kris, M. G., McCoy, S., Donaldson, D. W., & Moinpour, C. M. (2005). A comparison of visual analogue and numerical rating scale formats for the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale (LCSS): Does format affect patient ratings of symptoms and quality of life? Quality of Life Research, 14(3), 837–847.CrossRefPubMed
22.
23.
Revelle, W., & Zinbarg, R. E. (2009). Coefficients alpha, beta, omega and the glb: Comments on Sijtsma. Psychometrika, 74(1), 145–154.CrossRef
24.
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 233–255.CrossRef
25.
Little, T. D. (1997). Mean and covariance structures (MACS) analyses of cross-cultural data: Practical and theoretical issues. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 32, 53–76.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Measuring quality of life with fuzzy numbers: in the perspectives of reliability, validity, measurement invariance, and feasibility
Authors
Po-Yi Chen
Grace Yao
Publication date
01-04-2015
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Quality of Life Research / Issue 4/2015
Print ISSN: 0962-9343
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2649
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0816-3

Other articles of this Issue 4/2015

Quality of Life Research 4/2015 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Joint modeling of longitudinal health-related quality of life data and survival

OriginalPaper

Measuring changes in health over time using the EQ-5D 3L and 5L: a head-to-head comparison of measurement properties and sensitivity to change in a German inpatient rehabilitation sample

OriginalPaper

The relationship between economic characteristics and health-related quality of life in newly diagnosed cancer patients in Southeast Asia: results from an observational study

OriginalPaper

Quality of life profile in Italian long-term cancer survivors

OriginalPaper

A new computerized adaptive test advancing the measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children: the Kids-CAT

OriginalPaper

Association of sleep patterns with psychological positive health and health complaints in children and adolescents