Advancing cross-cultural research on quality of life: Observations drawn from the WHOQOL development

This paper is concerned with methods and theory recently used in cross-cultural research. It begins by looking at why we need cross-cultural measures and why we need more of them. A discussion of the translation styles, and the issues underpinning their design is central to this discussion. Through a description of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Assessment instruments and their development, the paper demonstrates how some of the earlier theoretical and methodological challenges have been addressed, together with a critique of its limitations.