Book Review

Abstract

Handbook on Quality of Life for Human Service Practitioners Robert L. Schalock &Miguel Angel Verdugo-Alonso, 2002 Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation ISBN 0-940898-77-2 The concept of quality of life (QOL) or the “good life,” as the authors point out in their introduction, dates back to antiquity. In recent years, however, it has emerged as an outcome variable in research and policy development across the major fields of human services. It is timely, therefore, that this Handbook has been published as it provides one of the most comprehensive overviews of published research on this important topic. Its major contribution lies in the way the authors have analysed the voluminous literature on the conceptualisation, measurement, and application of the concept of QOL from 1985 onwards. In this process they have covered the focus areas of education (regular and special), physical health, mental and behavioural health, intellectual disabilities, ageing, and families. Readers will find the multi-dimensional heuristic quality of life model that integrates QOL domains, social systems, and the issues of measurement, application, and evaluation particularly useful. Much of the research on QOL is not based upon sound models or conceptualisations of the construct and that weakens subsequent measurement instruments. Throughout the book the paradigmatic shifts that have occurred in the way disability has been defined and conceptualised; the way evaluation theory and strategies have undergone significant development; and the recognition of the critical importance of reflecting the person's subjective perception of his/her life quality, have been strongly emphasised. The book has been organised into four parts. Two introductory chapters provide an overview of the Handbook and the concept of QOL. Part 2 integrates the research on QOL across the six focus areas and concludes with a synthesis of core QOL domains and indicators. The measurement of the concept is presented in Part 3 with a useful systems approach embodying the core QOL domains of emotional wellbeing, interpersonal development, physical well-being, self-determination, social inclusion, and rights. Part 4 discusses the application of the concept at the individual, organisational, and societal levels. A concluding chapter “Putting it altogether and moving ahead” provides a useful synthesis of the major themes. A particularly interesting observation is the relative lack of emphasis in the QOL literature surveyed on the rights domain, education (including special education), and familycentred research.