Perception gap in quality-of-life ratings: an empirical investigation of nursing home residents and caregivers.

Purpose: Several studies have previously documented the existence of a perception gap-the extent to which quality-of-life ratings provided by nursing home residents and caregivers diverge. In this study we use Helson's adaptation-level theory to investigate three types of antecedents: (a) focal factors, (b) background factors, and (c) residual factors.

Design And Methods: We calculated the perception gap for 11 quality-of-life domains.