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.
A sum score and suspiciousness flag for the LDI is available for use.
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:
The validation and the reliability of the LDI was performed in a study by Rosmalen et al.3)
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:
| Label English | Label Dutch | Code | 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) | ldi_housing_adu_q_01 | gllm1 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 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) | ldi_work_adu_q_02 | gllm2 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| relationship with friends or acquaintances (e.g. quarrels, lack of support) | relatie met vrienden of goede kennissen (bv. ruzies, te weinig steun) | ldi_friends_adu_q_03 | gllm3 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| relationship with your partner (e.g. jealousy, conflicts, doubt about the relationship, quarrels) | uw partnerrelatie (bv. jaloezie, conflicten, twijfel aan relatie, ruzies) | ldi_partner_adu_q_04 | gllm4 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 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) | ldi_children_adu_q_05 | gllm5 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| relationship with your parents (e.g. frequent conflicts, lack of acceptance) | relatie met uw ouders (bv. regelmatig conflicten, gebrek aan acceptatie) | ldi_parents_adu_q_06 | gllm6 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| relationship with other relatives (e.g. conflicts, lack of acceptance) | relaties met andere familieleden (bv. conflicten, gebrek aan acceptatie) | ldi_relatives_adu_q_07 | gllm7 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| free time (e.g. too little or too much free time) | vrije tijd (bv. te weinig, te veel vrije tijd) | ldi_freetime_adu_q_08 | gllm8 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| finances (e.g. major debts, insufficient income) | financiën (bv. grote schulden, ontoereikend inkomen) | ldi_finance_adu_q_09 | gllm9 | 1A 1B 1C 2A 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| your health (e.g. regularly ill, longer-term disorders) | uw gezondheid (bv. regelmatig ziekelijk, langerdurende ziekten) | ldi_health_adu_q_10 | gllm10 | 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| school/study (too difficult, cannot be combined with other tasks) | school/studie (bv. te zwaar, niet te combineren met andere taken) | ldi_school_adu_q_11 | gllm11 | 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |
| faith, church or religion (e.g. doubt, conflicts with your minister) | geloof, kerk of godsdienst (bv. twijfel, conflicten met dominee) | ldi_religion_adu_q_12 | gllm12 | 3B ACTQ MHDQ | 18+ |