The lack of a universal definition of quality of life is mirrored by the absence of agreement on its measurement. To a large extent this occurs because of the diversity of measures found between and within disciplines. The medical sciences have a plethora of instruments measuring health-related quality of life in relation to illness and treatment (Bowling, 1995b,1997; Kliempt et al 2000). Social science measures tend to adopt a more multidimensional approach, encompassing variables such as health, happiness, life satisfaction, income, social networks to name but a few (Haug and Folmar 1986, Abrams (undated)). Haug and Folmar (1986), for example, measured physical health, functional ability, perceived income inadequacy, social contacts, absence of psychological distress and cognitive ability as concepts of an individual’s quality of life. More detailed examples of measurement approaches follow.