Elisabeth Ekstrand, Jan Lexell, Christina Brogårdh
Department of Health Sciences, Physiotherapy, Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden. E-mail: elisabeth.ekstrand@med.lu.se
DOI: 10.2340/16501977-2362

Objective: To evaluate the test–retest reliability of the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-11) and the association between items in individuals with chronic stroke.
Design: Test–retest design.
Subjects: Forty-five individuals (mean age 65 years) with mild to moderate disability at least 6 months post-stroke.
Methods: LiSat-11, which includes 1 global item ”Life as a whole” and 10 domain-specific items, was rated on 2 occasions, one week apart. Test–retest reliability was evaluated by kappa statistics, the percent agreement (PA) and the Svensson rank-invariant method. The association between items was evaluated with the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rho).
Results: The kappa coefficients showed good to excellent agreement (0. 59–0. 97) and the PA ≤ 1 point was high (> 89%) for all items. According to the Svensson method, a small systematic disagreement was found for “Partner relationship”. The other items showed no systematic or random disagreements. All domain-specific items, except one (“Sexual life”) were significantly correlated with “Life as a whole” (rhos 0. 29–0. 80).
Conclusion: LiSat-11 is considered reliable and can be recommended for assessing life satisfaction after stroke. The association between items indicates that LiSat-11 measures various aspects that can impact on an individual’s life satisfaction.

The Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, LiSat-11, is commonly used to assess life satisfaction after stroke.
LiSat-11 includes a global question regarding satisfaction with ”Life as a whole” and 10 domain-specific questions regarding satisfaction with vocation, economy, leisure, contacts with friends and acquaintances, sexual life, activities of daily living, family life, partner relationship, somatic health, and psychological health. This study shows that LiSat-11 is reliable and can be used to assess life satisfaction after stroke. The association between items indicates that LiSat-11 measures various aspects that can impact on an individual’s life satisfaction.