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Table of Contents
Long-term Difficulties Inventory (LDI)
The Long-term Difficulties Inventory (LDI)1) is a self-report questionnaire to measure long-term difficulties (section: mental health). It consists of 12 items referring to aspects of life, including housing, work, social relationships, free time, finances, health, school/study, and religion.
Note that stress is also assessed in Lifelines using the List of Threatening Experiences.
Background and Validation
Respondents have to indicate for each aspect how they experienced these aspects with respect to difficulty and stress in the last 12 months, on a three-point scale:
| Answer | Score |
|---|---|
| Not stressful | 0 |
| Slightly stressful | 1 |
| Very stressful | 2 |
Item scores are summed to derive a total score2).
Construct validity of the LDI was indicated by the positive association between the LDI scored (12 months) and:
- Psychological distress
- Mental health problems
- Neuroticism
The validation and the reliability of the LDI was performed in a study by Rosmalen et al.3)
Variables
The following variables from the LDI are collected in Lifelines. The same question is asked in relation to the above-mentioned aspects of the LDI, this question is:
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| In the past year, to what extent did you experience difficulties and stress related to this aspect of your life? | In welke mate hebt u afgelopen jaar moeilijkheden en stress ervaren met betrekking tot dit aspect van het leven? |
The following aspects in combination with the questions are described below:
| Questions English | Questions Dutch | Variable | Assessment | Age |
| Home and living (e.g. accommodation too small, could not find a home, noise) | Woning en wonen (bv. te kleine behuizing, kon geen woning vinden, lawaai) | GLLM1 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| At or with work (e.g. too demanding, conflicts with boss, (imminent) dismissal) | Op en met het werk (bv. te veeleisend, conflicten met chef, (dreigend) ontslag) | GLLM2 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| Relationship with friends or acquaintances (e.g. quarrels, lack of support) | Relatie met vrienden of goede kennissen (bv. ruzies, te weinig steun) | GLLM3 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| Relationship with your partner (e.g. jealousy, conflicts, doubt about the relationship, quarrels) | Uw partnerrelatie (bv. jaloezie, conflicten, twijfel aan relatie, ruzies) | GLLM4 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| Relationship with your children (e.g. frequent conflicts, lack of respect for you) | Relatie met uw kinderen (bv. vaak conflicten, weinig respect voor u tonen) | GLLM5 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| Relationship with your parents (e.g. frequent conflicts, lack of acceptance) | Relatie met uw ouders (bv. regelmatig conflicten, gebrek aan acceptatie) | GLLM6 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| Relationship with other relatives (e.g. conflicts, lack of acceptance) | Relaties met andere familieleden (bv. conflicten, gebrek aan acceptatie) | GLLM7 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| Free time (e.g. too little or too much free time) | Vrije tijd (bv. te weinig, te veel vrije tijd) | GLLM8 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| Finances (e.g. major debts, insufficient income) | Financiën (bv. grote schulden, ontoereikend inkomen) | GLLM9 | 1A 1B 1C 2A ACTQ | 18+ |
| Your health (e.g. regularly ill, longer-term disorders) | Uw gezondheid (bv. regelmatig ziekelijk, langerdurende ziekten) | GLLM10 | ACTQ | 18+ |
| School/study (too difficult, cannot be combined with other tasks) | School/studie (bv. te zwaar, niet te combineren met andere taken) | GLLM11 | ACTQ | 18+ |
| Faith, church or religion (e.g. doubt, conflicts with your minister) | Geloof, kerk of godsdienst (bv. twijfel, conflicten met dominee) | GLLM12 | ACTQ | 18+ |
