Using the Quality of Well-Being Scale to Assess Quality of Life in Out-of-Treatment Drug Users

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Abstract
The Quality of Well-Being Scale (QWB) was developed for use with diverse patient and general population samples. This study investigated its use with a sample of out-of-treatment drug users. The QWB was administered to 75 out-of-treatment drug users. A linear regression model was developed using the QWB score as the dependent variable and items from the Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA) as independent variables. The sample consisted of 18 women and 57 men. The mean QWB score was .703 (SO = .12, range .51 to 1.0). The final multivariate regression model included six variables: days used other opiates in the last 30, ever in outpatient drug free treatment, income in the past 30 days from welfare, the number of times gave sex for drugs in the past 30 days, ever being in prison/jail drug treatment, and the number of days in the last 30 used amphetamines. This model accounted for 85% of the variance in QWB scores. Different modalities of drug treatment appear to influence QWB scores in different ways. Outpatient drug free treatment was negatively associated with QWB score(s), while prison/jail drug treatment was positively associated with QWB scores.