Quality of life indicators: Adolescents' perceptions

The study was identified adolescents' perceptions of quality of life indicators and to examined the affect of selected demographic characteristics on indicator selection. In the summer of 1988, a two-part instrument was administered to 190 Arkansas teens who participated in one of four state summer 4-H activities. The instrument collected demographics in Part I and Part 2 was a Q-sort of 61 quality of life indicators which the respondent sorted into one of seven stacks according to what they personally felt gave their lives the most quality. SAS linear models (GLM) procedure for unbalanced ANOVA and the means separation test were used in data analysis. Findings of the study indicate that individual characteristics do influence what adolescents' perceive gives their life quality. Sex, race, place of residents and parent's marital status affect quality of life indicator selection by 4-H adolescents. Social/psychological and personal areas gave their lives the most quality.