Lawton IADL Scale

• Title/Author(s):
  Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale
  Developed by: M. Powell Lawton and Elaine M. Brody
  
  

• Year of Publication & Publisher:
  Published in 1969  The Gerontological Society of America
  
  

Assessment Details

• Identify TWO Types:
  
  

  • Criterion-referenced
    
    

  • Self-report and/or caregiver-report based assessment
    
    

• Cost & How to Access:
  
  

  • Cost: Free for clinical and research use
    
    

  • Access:
    
    

    • Available through many public clinical resources
      
      

    • Example link: Lawton IADL Scale PDF
      
      

• Population & Setting:
  
  

  • Population:
    
    

    • Primarily used with older adults (typically aged 65+)
      
      

    • Also used with individuals showing signs of cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or functional impairments
      
      

  • Setting:
    
    

    • Hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient rehab, home health, memory care clinics
      
      

• Purpose & Areas Assessed:
  
  

  • Purpose:
    
    

    • To evaluate an individual's ability to perform instrumental activities that are necessary for independent living in the community.
      
      

  • Areas Assessed (8 Domains):
    
    

    • Ability to use the telephone
      
      

    • Shopping
      
      

    • Food preparation
      
      

    • Housekeeping
      
      

    • Laundry
      
      

    • Mode of transportation
      
      

    • Responsibility for own medications
      
      

    • Ability to handle finances
      
      

Administration & Scoring

• Administration:
  
  

  • Time Required: Approximately 10–15 minutes
    
    

  • Format: Can be completed via self-report, interview, or caregiver-report
    
    

  • Administration method: Simple checklists or interviews asking about client’s ability to independently perform each task.
    
    

• User Qualifications:
  
  

  • Designed for use by occupational therapists, nurses, physicians, or other trained rehabilitation professionals
    
    

• Materials Required:
  
  

  • Printable Lawton IADL checklist
    
    

  • Pen/paper (or electronic form)
    
    

• Scoring:
  
  

  • Each of the 8 items is scored as either:
    
    

    • 1 = Independent
      
      

    • 0 = Dependent
      
      

  • Total Score Range:
    
    

    • Women: 0–8 (all 8 items)
      
      

    • Men: 0–5 (only 5 items typically scored; excludes laundry, food prep, housekeeping based on outdated gender norms — though many modern clinicians score all 8 for everyone)
      
      

  • Higher scores indicate greater independence.
    
    

Psychometrics/Standardization

• Reliability:
  
  

  • High test-retest reliability in older adult and dementia populations.
    
    

  • Strong internal consistency across items.
    
    

• Validity:
  
  

  • Demonstrates good construct validity, particularly for detecting early functional decline associated with cognitive impairment.
    
    

• Norms:
  
  

  • No strict normative data; scores are interpreted relative to functional independence expectations for community living.
    
    

Critical Thinking Sections

Strengths

• Quick to administer — Only 10–15 minutes needed.
  
  

• Simple and accessible — No special materials or equipment required.
  
  

• Useful in detecting early functional decline — Especially valuable for older adults or individuals at risk for dementia.
  
  

• Widely validated and free — No cost associated.
  
  

• Flexible administration — Can be adapted for self-report or caregiver-report depending on client ability.
  
  

Weaknesses

• Self-report bias — Clients may overestimate or underestimate their functional ability.
  
  

• Outdated gender norms — Originally omitted certain tasks (e.g., cooking, laundry) for men; modern practice usually assesses all tasks equally.
  
  

• Not sensitive to subtle impairments — Especially in high-functioning older adults.
  
  

• Does not assess basic ADLs — Only instrumental activities; may miss basic self-care deficits.
  
  

• Not standardized for cultural differences — Certain tasks (e.g., handling finances, transportation use) may vary in relevance across cultures.