A validation study of the Juhnke-Balkin Life Balance Inventory

Life balance was investigated as a unifying construct of wellness and found to be a significant, holistic concept among a variety of counseling professionals. The life balance construct is described as multifaceted and individually defined with elements of agency and autonomy. Assessment of the construct may yield information useful in supporting client change. Normative samples were drawn from both clinical and nonclinical settings (N = 346) and included both males (n = 178) and females (n = 168) with an age range of 18 to 67 (M = 30.28, SD = 10.64). Primary foci of this study included establishing initial evidence of validity of the internal structure of the Juhnke-Balkin Life Balance Inventory (JBLI), an instrument designed to assess life balance. The JBLI was tested for evidence of concurrent and discriminate validity with the OQ45.2 via multiple regression analysis and t tests of clinical and nonclinical samples. Using exploratory factor analysis (N = 346), 11 factors were retained accounting for 49% of variance in the model and corresponding scales were developed. Factors were identified based on factor loadings of .40 or greater. Reliability analysis was conducted on each scale, yielding adequate (.76) to high (.91) estimates of reliability for the 11 scales. Six of the 11 were identified as discriminant between clinical and nonclinical populations. Evidence of relationships to other variables was established between 9 of the JBLI scales and the three OQ45.2 scales. Post hoc analysis was conducted and the original factor structure was retained with an increase of 2% for a total of 51% of variance explained in the model. Results from the study serve as initial evidence of validity and reliability for an assessment instrument designed to measure life balance.