Factorial structure and validity of the Multicultural Quality of Life Index.

PURPOSE: To study the internal structure and the convergent and divergent validity of the Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) in a Spanish sample.

METHODS: The MQLI, along with another quality of life instrument--the World Health Organization Quality of Life, brief version (WHOQOL-BREF)--and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21), was administered to 356 students, 159 people from the general population and 65 psychiatric patients.

RESULTS: The value of Cronbach's a was .90. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit for both the one- and two-factor structures. The overall mean score of the MQLI correlated between .61 and .78 with the domains of the WHOQOL-BREF and between -.55 and -.70 with the DASS-21 scales.

CONCLUSIONS: The MQLI has high internal consistency, can be interpreted in terms of a single factor, and has an adequate convergent validity, although its absolute correlations with depression and with the WHOQOL-BREF were equally high.