Measuring quality of life in children referred for psychiatric problems: Psychometric properties of the PedsQL^TM4.0 generic core scales

Abstract

The PedsQL seems a valid instrument in measuring QoL in children referred for psychiatric problems.

Psychopathology in children: Improvement of quality of life without psychiatric symptom reduction?

“…Good reliability and validity were reported for the American [27] and Dutch version [3] of the PedsQL. In this study, the Total score was used; this score is computed by summing the scores for each item.…”

“…At the first assessment (Time 1), a sample was assessed of 310 children (response rate 73.1 %; mean age 11.3 years; range 6-18 years), who had been referred between August 1, 2000 and September 15, 2001 to a general or a university child psychiatric outpatient department in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. By recruiting patients from these two clinics, children with a broad range of problems, varying from mild to severe, were included [3,5]. At the second assessment (Time 2; mean follow-up time 389 days; SD = 66 days), 231 children and their parents participated (response rate 74.5 %; mean age 12.2 years; range 7-19 years).…”

“…Corresponding with the cut-off point of the CBCL, a PedsQL Total score of ≤ 10 th percentile was used as a cut-off point to define the clinical range. The cut-off point was based on the scoring distribution in a Dutch general population sample [3]. This group consisted of 74 children from the general population (response 66.1 %), who had not visited mental health services in the past year (56.8 % boys; mean age 12.1 years; range 7-18 years).…”

“…In this way, QoL encompasses more than simple symptom listing and can be distinguished from psychopathology measurement, because it addresses a wide range of aspects concerning a patient's functional adaptation in his or her everyday life. So far, several studies concluded that QoL of children with psychiatric disorders is considerably poorer than that of children from the general population, and as poor as or even poorer than that of physically ill children [3,17,21]. This underscores the need to address QoL in child psychiatric treatment [22].…”

Determinants of quality of life in children with psychiatric disorders

“…It has been reported that QoL in children with psychiatric disorders is not only considerably poorer than that of children from the general population, but also comparable to or even poorer than that of physically ill children [1][2][3], indicating that there is an association between poor QoL and child psychopathology. These findings underscore the need for QoL assessment in children with psychiatric disorders.…”