Quality of Life and Well-Being: An inquiry into causes and conditions, and the development of a questionnaire, mindfulness intervention, and critique of the existing paradigm

To address the lack of targeted research into quality of life and well-being in clinical psychology, an exploratory search of the literature was undertaken of studies demonstrating an association between life domains and increased well-being. Ten domains were identified: relationships, work, money, health and leisure (objective); and mindfulness, self-esteem, resolution of past life events, mental style and life management skills (subjective). It was proposed that unidimensional interventions to improve well-being are not sufficient and that practitioners target a range of quality of life domains when delivering treatment. In response to findings and the lack of clinical multiple utility instruments that assess quality of life, facets extracted from the identified domains were transformed into items to form a composite scale administered to 210 subjects. A principal components analysis produced seven factors: relationships, work, money, health, leisure, life management, and mental state. A revised seven factor scale (Clinical Quality of Life Scale) was evaluated against five standardised scales, demonstrating suitable reliability and concurrent validity. An intervention based on the above factors was subsequently designed using mindfulness training and goal setting (Mindfulness-based Quality of Life and Well-being Program) and administered to 191 participants. Increases in mindfulness, quality of life, subjective well-being, and positive and negative affect were greater in treated participants than controls at post-test, providing preliminary evidence that multi-dimensional mindfulness training may be beneficial. A limitation of the quality of life and subjective well-being research to deliver a construct and indicators of trait versus state well-being was discussed. This inquiry explored alternative models of well-being including non-dualism theory and evaluated supportive data from the field of mindfulness that suggest that well-being could be sourced independent of conventional subjective processes and life conditions. Recommendations are made to expand both the paradigm and direction of the current quality of life and well-being research