Development and Preliminary Validation of Korean Version of Quality of Life Survey
Purpose: A Quality of Life Survey has been developed and used in physical activity and health promotion research, based on a working definition of Quality of Life as: a subjective, multidimensional, integrative construct that reflects optimal well-being and positive health(Gill, et al., 2011). In this study, we developed a Korean version of the Quality of Life(QoL) Survey and assessed its validity. Methods: We developed the Korean version using established cross-cultural translation and validation techniques, with related QoL and physical activity measures used for validity. The first steps were developing an initial Korean version of the QoL measure through a series of translations and back-translations, and giving both the English and Korean versions to university students and community members who speak both Korean and English(N= 39). Next, to establish reliability and validity, we recruited Korean university students participants(N=351) for confirmatory factor analysis, reliability and item analysis with the overall measure and each sub-domain scale, as well as concurrent/construct validity analysis through relationships with conceptually-related measures(WHOQOL-BREF), Satisfaction with Life Scale, and physical activity to explore construct validity. Results: Correlations between Korean and English(N=39) were .382~.919, Cronbach's α of Korean version is .95, English version is .93. Confirmatory factor analysis(N=351) with 7 sub-factors showed good model fit(RMSEA .06, CFI .91, TLI .90). Cronbach’s α for sub-scales ranged from .65~.92, correlations with WHOQOL-BRIEF from .30~.60(p<.01), correlations with SWLS from .33~.48(p<.01). Conclusion: Results support the validity and reliability of Korean version of QoL survey.