Health-Related Quality of Life Among Abused Women One Year After Leaving a Violent Partner

This is the first follow up study measuring quality of life among abused women who have left their abusive partner. The women (n = 22) answered a questionnaire while staying at women’s shelter and one year later. The aim was to examine long-term effects of intimate partner violence against women on health-related quality of life. Health-related quality of life was measured using the SF-36 Health Survey and the WHOQOL-BREF. The meantime for living in a violent partnership was 11 years, most of the women had children under 10 years living with them, low income and were on sickness absence or disability pension. About half of the women had experienced threats of violence and 6 had experienced violent acts after leaving their partner. SF-36 scores after one year were significantly better in vitality (t-test, P < 0.001), mental health (t-test P < 0.001) and social domains (t-test, P < 0.04). WHOQOL-BREF scores did not change significantly from baseline, showing that the SF-36 showed more responsiveness in this population. Regression analysis showed that serious physical violence reported at baseline predicted significantly less improvement in physical and mental health and role-emotional in the SF-36 and in social relationships and environmental health in the WHOQOL-BREF. High psychological violence at baseline predicted significantly less improvement in mental health in the SF-36 and in social relationships and environmental health in the WHOQOL-BREF.     

Long-term effects of back extensor strengthening exercises on quality of life in women with osteoporosis

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term effect of back extensor strengthening exercises on health-related quality of life (QOL) in women with osteoporosis. In this randomized clinical trial, 183 women with osteoporosis were treated with pharmacotherapy and weight-bearing and balance-training exercises. The case group additionally performed back extensor exercises at home. Patients filled out the Persian version of the Short Form (SF-36) QOL questionnaire at baseline and 6 months post treatment. At the end, all physical and mental parameters of the SF-36 questionnaire improved significantly in the case group, except for one subscale of mental health, compared to the control group. In the control group, only some physical health dimensions (bodily pain, role limitation, physical function, vitality), and mental health status as a mental health subscale improved. In conclusion, considering a major impact of back extensor exercises on improving QOL in women with osteoporosis over the long term, these exercises should be prescribed in routine management of these patients.     

Child Health-Related Quality of Life and Parental Social Capital in Greece: An Exploratory Study

In this paper, we examined dimensions of child health-related quality of life in Greece in relation to parental assessments of neighbourhood social capital and social support networks. For the analysis, two main measures were used: (1) child self-reported health-related quality of life in ten dimensions, as measured by the KIDSCREEN questionnaire; (2) subjective measures of parental neighbourhood social capital and social support. Parental assessments of neighbourhood social capital and social support were both independently and positively associated with child self-reported health-related quality of life. However, they were not associated with the same dimensions of child well being, nor were they associated with all dimensions of child well being. These results suggest that greater attention in future research needs to be paid to the differential associations between the various dimensions of social capital and child health-related quality of life, with clear focus implications for social and health policies.     

Good Health is Not the Same as a Good Life: Survey Results from Brandon,Manitoba

The aim of this investigation was to obtain some baseline self-reported data on the health status and overall quality of life of a sample of residents of the city of Brandon, Manitoba aged 18 years or older, and to measure the impact of a set of designated health determinants, comparison standards and satisfaction with diverse domains of life on their health and quality of life. In May and June 2010, 2,500 households from the city of Brandon, Manitoba were randomly selected to receive a mailed out questionnaire and 518 useable, completed questionnaires were returned. Baseline health status data were obtained using the 8 SF-36 dimensions of health and 13 items from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Determinants of health and overall quality of life included measures of socializing activities, a Good Neighbourhood Index, Social Support Index, Community Health Index, a measure of free-time exercise levels, health-related behaviours, use of drugs, health care issues, a set of domain-specific quality of life items, a set of measures concerning criminal victimization, worries and behaviours concerning victimization and the basic postulates of Multiple Discrepancies Theory. Overall life assessment, dependent variables included Average Health, happiness, a single item measure of satisfaction with life as a whole, a single item measure of satisfaction with the overall quality of life, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, Contentment with Life Assessment Scale and a Subjective Wellbeing Index. Using multiple regression, we explained as much as 75% of the variance in Subjective Wellbeing scores and as little as 45% in happiness scores. Four clusters of health determinants explained from 20% (Happiness) to 44% (Average Health) of the variance in the dependent variables. Adding comparison standards and domain satisfaction scores to the set of health determinants increased our total explanatory power by only 2% points for Average Health (from 44 to 46%), but more than doubled our explanatory power for Happiness (from 20 to 45%) and for satisfaction with the overall quality of life (from 31 to 67%). As well, our explanatory power for the single item of Life Satisfaction increased from 34 to 66%, for the Satisfaction With Life Scale from 39 to 74%, for the Contentment With Life Assessment Scale from 36 to 60%, and for Subjective Wellbeing from 42 to 75%. This provided very clear evidence that self-perceived good health is not equivalent to perceived quality of life, confirming evidence reported in our earlier studies. The three most important take-home messages from this investigation are (1) in assessing the relative influence of any alleged determinants of health and the quality of life, different sets of alleged determinants will appear to be more or less influential for different dependent variables. Therefore, (2) researchers should use diverse sets of determinants and dependent variables and (3) it is a big mistake to use measures of health status as if they were measures of the perceived quality of life.     

Quality of life indicators and health: Current status and emerging conceptions

Quality of life is an increasingly common theme in the health status and health promotion literatures. Six approaches that consider quality of life and health are reviewed. These are (a) health-related quality of life; (b) quality of life as social diagnosis in health promotion; (c) quality of life among persons with developmental disabilities; (d) quality of life as social indicators; (e) the Centre for Health Promotion (University of Toronto) model, and (f) Lindstrom's quality of life model. Each approach is considered as to its emphasis on objective or subjective indicators, individual or system-level measurement, value-laden or value-neutral assumptions, and potential relationship to social policy and social change goals. The links among the social indicators, quality of life, and health promotions areas are examined.     

Quality of Life in College Students with and without Social Phobia

Prior studies demonstrating quality of life impairment in phobia and anxiety disorders have relied upon epidemiological samples or clinical data. Using the same quality of life scale, the Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36), in Iranian college students allowed us to study the impact of social phobia (SP) on quality of life among the college students. This report summarizes findings from a cross sectional study on Iranian students with social phobia studying at Shahed University. Quality of life was measured using the Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36) which is a widely used and valid questionnaire to measure quality of life in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Three standard instruments were used to measure social phobia severity, namely Social Phobia Inventory, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and Brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale. The sample consisted of 202 college students, 72 with SP and 130 without SP. The main finding of this study was that students with social phobia reported significantly lower quality of life, particularly in general health (P = 0.02), vitality (P < 0.0001), social functioning (P < 0.0001), role functioning—emotional (P < 0.0001), and Mental health (P = 0.001) dimensions. Standardized summed scores for mental health components of the SF-36 showed that 36.2% of all the s with SP were severely impaired while 16.0% of the students in control croup were severely impaired. Findings demonstrated that Iranian socially anxious college students reported extensive functional disability, and lower well-being compared to those without SP. These findings should encourage education officers to implement systematic efforts to prevent and treat social anxiety among students.     

Physical and Mental Health Correlates of Self-Efficacy in Dementia Family Caregivers

This study examined whether self-efficacy for controlling upsetting caregiving thoughts would longitudinally predict mental and physical health as well as utilization of psychotropic medications in help-seeking dementia family caregivers (N = 53). Positive associations were found between self-efficacy and self-reported mental health and physical health subscales of the Short Form Health Questionnaire-12, and negative correlations were found between self-efficacy for controlling upsetting thoughts about caregiving and the number of psychotropic medications being utilized both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. These results suggest that self-efficacy for controlling upsetting thoughts may be a fruitful target area for further intervention research with dementia family caregivers.     

Determinants of Health and the Quality of Life in the Bella Coola Valley

The aim of this investigation is to obtain some baseline self-reported data on the health status and overall quality of life of all residents of the Bella Coola Valley of British Columbia aged 17 years or older, and to measure the impact of a set of designated health determinants on their health and quality of life. In the period from August to November 2001, a variety of procedures were used to ensure that all eligible residents of the Valley received a copy of our questionnaire, and 687 useable questionnaires were obtained for our working dataset. Health status was measured by SF-36 and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control healthy days items. Thirty-one items were used to measure the Provincial Health Officer’s designated determinants of health in four clusters, namely, biological, social and economic, health behaviours and health services determinants. Quality of life was measured by satisfaction levels in 13 specific domains of life (e.g., family, financial security), four global items (e.g., happiness, life satisfaction) and one global Subjective Well-Being Index. Besides obtaining baseline figures on all our measures for the Valley, we made some comparisons among our figures and those from other areas, e.g., Prince George, BC. Most of the measures indicated that the health status and quality of life of Bella Coola Valley residents were lower than those of Prince George residents. For the sample as a whole, SF-36 scores on the eight dimensions ran from 82.3 (physical functioning) to 50.0 (social functioning), with a mean of 62.7. Residents in the Valley averaged 6.5 days in the past 30 in which their health was physically not good, 5.5 days when it was mentally not good and 4.1 days when their health limited their usual daily activities. Eleven percent of respondents described their general health as “excellent” and another 27% said it was “very good”. On a 7-point scale from 1=very dissatisfied to 7=very satisfied, respondents had average life satisfaction and satisfaction with the overall quality of life scores of 5.5. For specific domains of life, the lowest mean level of satisfaction was reported for federal and provincial government officials (3.3) and the highest was reported for living partners and personal safety around home (5.8). Regarding bivariate relations, each of the eight dimensions of SF-36 was significantly correlated with a single item measure of general health, and five of the eight were significantly correlated with the number of good health days. Happiness and the Subjective Well-Being Index were positively but moderately correlated with six of the eight dimensions, and life satisfaction was positively correlated with five. Age was negatively related to general health, but positively related to life satisfaction. Not being of aboriginal descent was positively related to all of the four global health indicators and to the Subjective Well-Being Index. Education was positively related to the four global health measures but not to the three global quality of life measures. The Social Support and Good Family Indexes were positively related to all seven global measures. There was a positive correlation between six of the seven global measures and the frequency with which respondents participated in activities sponsored by voluntary organizations. Frequency of smoking was negatively associated with every global dependent variable except the Physical Health Index. Frequency of skipping meals was negatively associated and average hours of sleep per night was positively associated with all seven global measures. Turning to multivariate relationships, the four clusters of health determinants explained from 12% (SF-36 Mental Health Index) to 24% (general health) of the variance in the dependent global health variables, and from 20% (happiness) to 26% (Subjective Well-Being Index) of the variance in the dependent global quality of life variables. Adding domain satisfaction scores to the total set of predictors allowed us to explain from 20% (SF-36 Mental health Index) to 29% (general health) of the variance in the dependent global health variables, and from 39% (happiness) to 62% (life satisfaction) in the dependent global quality of life variables. By including measures of social support and good family relationships in our set of health determinants, we practically guaranteed that the latter would be relatively strongly predictive of global quality of life.     

Correlates of wellbeing among African American lesbians

Although there is a growing body of knowledge about health among African American women in general, there is a dearth of information on African American lesbians. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the correlates of health-related quality of life among African American lesbians using a cross-sectional anonymous survey with topics and measures developed by members of the African American lesbian community. Surveys were completed by 123 English speaking adult women who identified as African American lesbians and were attending the Zuna Institute's National Black Lesbian Conference. Overall, we found a very high health-related quality of life, in spite of a high frequency of health impairments. The average body mass index (BMI) for this sample was 32.2 (SD?=?8.0); 13% were morbidly obese, having a BMI of 40 or more and only 15% of the women were in a healthy weight range; advancing age was associated with poorer physical functioning, decreased physical role functioning, and more pain. Health-related quality of life was associated with depression and spirituality, but not religion. This study highlights the need for subjective measures of health-related quality of life as well as checklists of diseases and disorders.     

Validation of the 12 Item Short form Health Survey in a Sample from Region Central Jutland

In 2010 the Danish regions started a new program of public health surveillance in collaboration with the national and local health authorities using the short form health survey (SF-12) for measuring and reporting on health related quality of life among the Danish adult population. The instrument has not, however, been validated in a Danish setting. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS) score of the 12-item short form health survey (SF-12) in a sample from Central Denmark Region. A total of 26,397 persons above the age of 25 were included in the analyses. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s α. The validity was assessed using known-groups comparisons and convergent validity. The factor structure was investigated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The Cronbach’s α showed high reliability with a score of 0.90 and 0.85 for PCS and MCS respectively. The SF-12 discriminated well with respect to gender, age, educational status and long term illness. Individual items correlated higher with own hypothesized scales than with other scales and summary measures corroborating the convergent validity. The EFA gave a two-factor structure. Irrespective of the chosen rotation method (varimax and oblimin) the items related to PCS loaded on one factor and the items related to MCS loaded on another factor. The factor structure was validated with acceptable model-fit values in CFA. The SF-12 instrument is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among the population of Central Denmark Region.     

Expression and ambivalence over expression of negative emotion: cross-sectional associations with psychosocial factors and health-related quality of life in postmenopausal women

Inhibition of emotional expression has been associated with the incidence and progression of breast cancer and other chronic illnesses. The important health-related factor, however, may be ambivalence about the expression of emotions rather than repression itself. This cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 159,557 participants in the Women's Health Initiative examined the influence of expression of negative emotion and ambivalence about expression of emotion on psychosocial factors and health-related quality of life measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Short-form 36 (SF-36). Overall, observed correlations were modest but in the expected direction; that is, greater ambivalence about negative emotional expression was associated with worse general health and poorer psychosocial risk profile. Ambivalence about expressing negative emotion was more highly correlated with psychosocial factors and health-related quality of life than emotional expression. In general, our analysis supports prior studies suggesting that ambivalence may be more important to consider in studies of health-related outcomes than expression.     

Health,Quality of Care and Quality of Life: A Case of Frail Older Adults

This study explores the relationship between health, quality of care of geriatric case management and quality of life for the purpose of furthering the understanding of the relationship between quality of life and geriatric case management. Using survey data from a group of frail older adults, this study assesses the relative merit of two mediation hypotheses: one considering health as a mediator for quality of care of geriatric case management and quality of life, and the other considering quality of care of geriatric case management as a mediator for health and quality of life. The study findings show that quality of care of geriatric case management, measured by client satisfaction, was not a mediator between health and quality of life (measured by life satisfaction). There was a significant positive association between quality of care of geriatric case management and quality of life. Although the significant association between quality of care of geriatric case management and quality of life could not be mediated by either self-rated health or self-reported physical activity levels, it was completely mediated by health satisfaction. These findings provided preliminary empirical evidence to support a significant relationship between quality of care of geriatric case management and quality of life.     

Health and quality of life of older people,a replication after six years

Replicating a survey of 875 people 55 years old or more undertaken in September 1999 throughout the former Northern Interior Health Region (NIHR) of British Columbia, in September 2005 a sample of 656 people completed a 22-page questionnaire. The average age of the respondents was 68, with a range running from 55 to 96 years, and 64% were women. Responses to the SF-36 questionnaire indicated that for male respondents aged 55–64, the mean score for the 8 dimensions was 76.1. This mean was a bit higher than the 74.4 mean of 1999. For male respondents aged 65 and older the mean was 69.0, which was also higher than the 68.3 mean of 1999. For females aged 55–64, the mean score for 8 dimensions was 73.1, versus 73.0 in 1999. For female respondents aged 65 and older, the mean score was 67.0, versus 65.4 in 1999. Based on these mean scores for the 8 dimensions, then, it is fair to say that the overall health status of males and females aged 55 years and older in the region in 2005 was at least as good as (i.e., the same as or better than) that in 1999. Comparing 28 average figures for the 2005 respondents on satisfaction with specific domains of life (e.g., financial security, health, sense of meaning) and three global indicators (satisfaction with life as a whole and with the overall quality of life, and happiness) with those of the 1999 respondents, we found that the scores for the 2005 sample were at least as high as those of the other sample. Thus, it seems fair to say that the perceived quality of life of older people in the former NIHR so far as it is revealed in domain and global satisfaction and happiness scores, is at least as good as the perceived quality of life of a similar sample in 1999. Although a large majority perceived increases in crime in the 2 year periods prior to both surveys, smaller percentages of the 2005 sample than of the 1999 sample thought that crime had increased over the past two years, avoided going out at night, feared for their safety, had crime-related worries, engaged in crime-related defensive behaviours and were actually the victims of any crimes. Therefore, it seems fair to say that, so far as crime-related issues are concerned for the two samples of seniors responding to our surveys, there is more evidence of improvement than of deterioration. Applying stepwise multiple regression, each of the eight dependent variables was explained on the basis of four clusters of predictors separately and then a final regression was run using only the statistically significant predictors from the four clusters. Broadly speaking, 7 SF-36 health status scales explained from 28% to 45% of the variance in the 8 dependent variables, running from satisfaction with the overall quality of life (28%) to the single item measure of general health (45%). The seven predictors in the Social Relations cluster explained from 7% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 57% of the variance in the Life Satisfaction scores. The four predictors in the Problems cluster explained from 10% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 24% of the variance in the SWLS scores. The 11 predictors in the Domain Satisfaction cluster explained from 14% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 64% of the variance in the SWB scores. Putting all the significant predictors together for each dependent variable, in the weakest case, 4 of 11 potential predictors explained 33% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores and in the strongest case, 9 of 15 potential predictors explained 70% of the variance in Life Satisfaction scores. Among other things, these results clearly show that respondents’ ideas about a generally healthy life are different from, but not independent of, their ideas about a happy, satisfying or contented life, or about the perceived quality of their lives or their subjective wellbeing. Finally, the 7 core discrepancy predictors of MDT plus incomes were used to explain the eight dependent variables. From 13% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 57% of the variance in SWLS scores was explained using those predictors. Based on an examination of the Total Effects scores for the predictors of the 8 dependent variables, the most influential predictors were Self-Wants, followed by Self-Others and then Self-Best. In other words, the most influential discrepancy predictors of respondents’ overall life assessments were those between what respondents have versus what they want, followed by what they have versus what others of the same age and sex have, and then by what they have versus the best they ever had in the past. We would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for support of this research with funds granted to Alex C. Michalos through the Gold Medal Award in 2004.     

Welfare reform and the subjective well-being of single mothers

Although a large body of research examines the impact of welfare reform, there remains considerable uncertainty as to whether single mothers’ well-being improved in the wake of these policy changes. Using unique data from the DDB Worldwide Communications Life Style^TM survey, this paper exploits a large battery of survey questions on self-reported life satisfaction and physical and mental health to study the impact of welfare reform on the subjective well-being of single mothers. The identification strategy relies on a difference-in-differences framework to estimate intent-to-treat effects for the welfare waiver and TANF periods. Results indicate that the bundle of TANF reforms had mostly positive effects on single mothers’ subjective well-being. These women experienced an increase in life satisfaction, greater optimism about the future, and more financial satisfaction. Furthermore, these improvements did not come at a cost of reducing mental and physical health. Welfare waivers, in contrast, had largely neutral effects on well-being. I provide indirect evidence that the increase in single mothers’ employment after welfare reform can plausibly explain the gains in subjective well-being.     

Life Satisfaction as a Distinguishing Indicator of College Student Functioning: Further Validation of the Two-Continua Model of Mental Health

The two-continua model of mental health contends that both psychological distress and psychological well-being make related-yet-distinct contributions to our understanding of human health and its relations with other quality of life outcomes. Using self-reported somatization, depression, and anxiety symptoms as indicators of psychological distress and self-reported life satisfaction as an indicator of psychological well-being, the present study classified participants into one of four mental-health-status groups—mentally healthy, mentally unhealthy, symptomatic yet content, or asymptomatic yet discontent—and investigated between-group differences across three key indicators of college student functioning: academic achievement, interpersonal connectedness, and physical health. Findings provide further validation for the two-continua model of mental health among college students, showing that, when considered in conjunction with clinical symptoms, life satisfaction serves as a distinguishing indicator of college students functioning across academic, social, and physical health domains—as well as a strong predictor of the absence or presence of clinical symptoms and comorbidity. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.     

Solitary Time and Mental Health in the Netherlands

Whereas prior research focused on the beneficial effects of time spent with others, this study investigated the association between solitary time and mental health by hypothesizing about the possible detriments as well as benefits. Additionally, we studied whether the association between solitary time and mental health was nonlinear and moderated by gender and life stage. We hypothesized that whereas solitary time limits individuals’ access to social resources and support (decreasing mental health), it also helps individuals to recharge (enhancing mental health). We used the Dutch Time Use Survey from 2006 (N = 1,487). Results of Tobit models indicated that more solitary time in leisure (but not household labor) was associated with a reduction in mental health. For men, we did find a negative association between alone time in household labor and mental health. There was no evidence for a curvilinear relationship between time alone and mental health, nor did life course stage appeared to moderate this association.     

Loneliness and Subjective Happiness as Mediators of the Effects of Core Self-evaluations on Life Satisfaction Among Chinese College Students

The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediator effects of loneliness and subjective happiness on the relationship between core self-evaluations and life satisfaction in Chinese college students. A total of 301 participants were all students who were attending three different Chinese colleges in Nanchang, Xi’an and Yan’an. Data were collected by using the Core Self-evaluations Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Subjective Happiness Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Path revealed that subjective happiness fully mediated the relationship between core self-evaluations and life satisfaction. Furthermore, the association between core self-evaluations and life satisfaction was not mediated by loneliness and subjective happiness partially mediated the association between core self-evaluations and loneliness. The final model also showed a significant path from core self-evaluations through subjective happiness to life satisfaction and loneliness. Limitations of the study are considered and implications of the results for increasing individuals’ life satisfaction are discussed.     

我国人口流动中的健康选择机制研究

利用2008年中国流动与健康调查数据,对农村留守人口、农村外出返乡人口、乡城流动人口以及城镇居民等不同流动特征群体之间的健康差异进行比较,并系统检验了我国人口流动过程中的两种健康选择机制——"健康移民"(healthy migrant)效应和"三文鱼偏误"(salmon bias)效应。模型分析结果表明,我国人口流动存在着较为明显的"健康移民"和"三文鱼偏误"选择效应。在控制被访者的年龄、性别、主要社会经济特征以及相关健康行为后,流动人口自评一般健康、慢性病状况、经常性身体不适和肺活量等健康指标显著优于农村留守人口,乡城流动人口患有慢性病和出现经常性身体不适的可能性也显著低于农村返乡人口。在控制相关变量后,乡城流动人口与城镇居民的健康状况(除慢性病和心率过高症状外)不存在显著差别。     

Personality and quality of life

The present study investigated a possible association between personality, mental absorption and quality of life (QOL) in a sample of young males (N=411). Mental absorption was assessed with Tellegen's Absorption Scale (ABS). Using a 6 dimensional QOL-scale we found the Millon Behavior Health Inventory (MBHI) dimensions Basic coping style, Psychogenic attitudes, Psychosomatic correlates and Prognosic indices, to be firmly related to QOL, explaining 44% of the variance of a QOL scale which was derived through factor analysis. Mental absortion was weakly related to QOL. The discussion revolves around the relationship between personality and perceptual style, health report behavior and personality as possible biasing factor in evaluative QOL-investigations.     

The Metrics of Subjective Wellbeing Data: An Empirical Evaluation of the Ordinal and Cardinal Comparability of Life Satisfaction Scores

This paper is motivated by the lack of consensus on the metrics of subjective wellbeing measurement scales. Subjective wellbeing data are frequently treated as though they are cardinally comparable both across and within individuals, though very little evidence exists to support these assumptions. Because wellbeing cannot be observed directly, cardinality must remain an assumption, which is usually imposed based on statistical convenience rather than on reason. The premise of this paper is that it is both possible and useful to make this assumption more informed. The analysis applies the principle of simultaneous conjoint measurement to improve our understanding of what information is contained within subjective wellbeing scores. Specifically, the metrics of the eleven-point numeric life satisfaction scale is evaluated using the MH5 mental health survey instrument. Under the assumption that the response function for MH5 is identifiable by the Rasch model, the shape of the response function for life satisfaction is potentially observable indirectly via the association between life satisfaction and MH5. The results presented here suggest life satisfaction scores are ordinally distinct, in terms of these mental health data, which supports the assumption of ordinal comparability. Under the aforementioned assumption, these scores are also approximately equidistant, which supports cardinal comparability. This pattern is found both across individuals and within individuals across time.