KIDSCREEN-52

Questionnaire to assess the health-related quality of life of children and adolescents

 

Please note: the KIDSCREEN is fully open-access. All available versions can be downloaded here.

 

Scope

 

With 52 items in ten Rasch-scaled HRQoL dimensions, the KIDSCREEN-52 is the most detailed version of the KIDSCREEN questionnaires. It is primarily used for research purposes and should be used when the health-related quality of life of children and adolescents is the central topic of the study. 

 

Development

 

The questionnaire was constructed, tested, and normed using data from 3,000 children and adolescents from Europe. In addition to standard psychometric analyses, item response theory (IRT) analyses and structural equation modeling were conducted to determine the optimal item and scale characteristics of the questionnaire. One focus of the analyses was to identify items that exhibit differential item functioning (DIF). Controlling for DIF allows for comparable measurement of the identified quality-of-life dimensions across the 13 European countries that participated in its development. The KIDSCREEN-52 was used in representative, written HRQOL surveys of approximately 1,800 children and their parents per country (total n = 22,296), and normative data were generated from these. The final analysis, which included a national and cross-cultural evaluation of the instruments, confirmed the pilot test results. The subscales allow for true cross-cultural measurement at the interval scale level because they meet the assumptions of the Rasch model and have no DIF.

 

The KIDSCREEN-52 measures the following ten dimensions:

  • Physical Well-Being (5 items)
  • Psychological Well-Being (6 items)
  • Moods and Emotions (7 items)
  • Self Perception (5 items)
  • Autonomy (5 items)
  • Parent Relations and Home Life (6 items)
  • Financial Resources (3 items)
  • Peers and Social Support (6 items)
  • School Environment (6 items)
  • Bullying (3 items)

 

Psychometric Properties


The physical (Children with Special Health Care Needs screener for parents, CSHCN; Bethell et al., 2002) and mental (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ; Goodman et al., 2000) health of the children and adolescents surveyed were used to validate the questionnaire. For example, correlations of over 0.55 were observed between the KIDSCREEN dimensions and the frequency of physical complaints. Furthermore, a satisfactory agreement between national HRQoL instruments and the KIDSCREEN-52 version was shown in all participating countries.

 

Time to Complete Survey

 

Answering the KIDSCREEN-52 takes only 15-20 minutes. The result is a profile with the ten HRQoL dimensions already mentioned. For correct evaluation and comparison with norm data, you will find additional information under Analysis.

References

  • Bethell, C.D., Read, D., Stein, R.E., Blumberg, S.J., Wells, N. & Newacheck, P.W. (2002) Identifying children with special health care needs: development and evaluation of a short screening instrument. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 2 (1), 38-48.
  • Goodman, R, Ford, T, Simmons, H, Getward, R, & Meltzer, H. (2000). Using the Strengths and Difficulties Ques-tionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample. Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 534-539.