Validation of the Quality of Work Life Questionnaire in Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder

BACKGROUND: While employment can promote recovery among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD), it may also expose them to symptom-related and environmental challenges, highlighting the importance of quality of work life (QWL). Among available measures, the QWL questionnaire is particularly relevant because it has demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability among individuals living with severe mental illness. However, its construct validity remains to be assessed, and further validation of the QWL questionnaire is needed with diverse workers, including those with BPD. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: This study examined the construct validity of the QWL questionnaire among individuals with BPD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The clinical sample comprised 130 adults with BPD who were employed or returning to work. Through an online survey, participants completed the QWL questionnaire and sociodemographic questions. The QWL questionnaire consists of 40 items divided into eight subscales, which are grouped into two macrodimensions: structural and physical elements as well as intra- and interpersonal components. Confirmatory factor analyses and reliability analyses were conducted for the two main dimensions. RESULTS: The QWL questionnaire showed good construct validity across its two macrodimensions. Strong reliability, with good internal consistency was found for both the Structural and physical dimension (α = 0.84), and the Intra- and interpersonal dimension (α = 0.94). Alpha coefficients for the subscales within the Structural and physical dimension ranged from 0.57 to 0.90. For the intra- and interpersonal dimension, subscale alpha coefficients ranged from 0.79 to 0.94. CONCLUSIONS: The QWL questionnaire is a valid self-report measure for individuals with BPD which adds to the evaluation process of occupational therapists. A next step will be to examine its predictive validity in relation to job tenure. SIGNIFICANCE: The QWL questionnaire can help identify key factors influencing work experience of and may be valuable for both research and clinically oriented work-related interventions.