Description of Subtheme:
Quality of life (QOL) is a basic concept in a number of disciplines, including social sciences, politics, economics, the environment, psychology, and medicine. Although the term comprises primarily psychological components, it remains a multi-dimensional concept that has been derived from various fields, the most important of which are biology, medicine, psychology, and sociology.
QOL has an objective and a subjective indicator. The objective indicators include personal wealth and possessions, level of safety, and health facilities, among others. Subjective indicators are manifested in happiness, satisfaction with life, positive social relations, awareness of other people’s feelings, emotional control, internal behavioral control, personal and social responsibility, allegiance to family and homeland, personal and social compatibility, and optimism.
‘Quality of life and its relation to insomnia among Lebanese students’ was the title of a study conducted at the Department of Psychology. The study sought to investigate the sex-related differences on both quality of life (QOL) and insomnia, and to estimate the correlations and the factorial structure of the study variables. Participants were Lebanese university students (N= 215: 125 men & 90 women. The study showed no significant differences between men and women on the mean scores on either the QOL or the insomnia scales. All the correlations between the insomnia scale and the QOL subscales and the total scale were statistically significant and negative. Principal components analysis revealed one bipolar factor, labeled “Quality of life vs insomnia” in men, women and the whole sample. It was concluded that insomnia may have an impact on the quality of life in university students. Based upon the findings of the study, it was recommended to develop a guidance program aimed to raise students' awareness of the importance of the self – management of insomnia problem because of its impact on quality of life.
A recent study, conducted at Department of Psychology, found that working women scored a higher mean score on the total QOL Scale in comparison to the non-working women and that working women in the educational field obtained a lower quality of life in the domains of general quality of life, general health, the physical aspects and the psychological aspects, as well as their social relationships. The correlations between the variables in the two samples were different.
The department’s future plans will be dealing with the effect of quality of life on mental health among cancer patients and the standardization of the WHO quality of life scale on Lebanese samples.
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