RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To determine age and gender differences in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children and adolescents across 12 European countries using a newly developed HRQOL measure (KIDSCREEN). METHODS: The KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire was filled in by 21,590 children and adolescents aged 8-18 from 12 countries. We used multilevel regression analyses to model the hierarchical structure of the data. In addition, effect sizes were computed to test for gender differences within each age group. RESULTS: Children generally showed better HRQOL than adolescents (P < 0.001). While boys and girls had similar HRQOL at young age, girls' HRQOL declined more than boys' (P < 0.001) with increasing age, depending on the HRQOL scale. There was significant variation between countries both at the youngest age and for age trajectories. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, gender and age differences in children's and adolescents' HRQOL across Europe were assessed using a comprehensive and standardised instrument. Gender and age differences exist for most HRQOL scales. Differences in HRQOL across Europe point to the importance of national contexts for youth's well-being.
Asunto(s)
Estado de Salud , Calidad de Vida , Adolescente , Factores de Edad , Niño , Europa (Continente) , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Factores Sexuales , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The objective of the present study was to compare three different sampling and questionnaire administration methods used in the international KIDSCREEN study in terms of participation, response rates, and external validity. METHODS: Children and adolescents aged 8-18 years were surveyed in 13 European countries using either telephone sampling and mail administration, random sampling of school listings followed by classroom or mail administration, or multistage random sampling of communities and households with self-administration of the survey materials at home. Cooperation, completion, and response rates were compared across countries and survey methods. Data on non-respondents was collected in 8 countries. The population fraction (PF, respondents in each sex-age, or educational level category, divided by the population in the same category from Eurostat census data) and population fraction ratio (PFR, ratio of PF) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were used to analyze differences by country between the KIDSCREEN samples and a reference Eurostat population. RESULTS: Response rates by country ranged from 18.9% to 91.2%. Response rates were highest in the school-based surveys (69.0%-91.2%). Sample proportions by age and gender were similar to the reference Eurostat population in most countries, although boys and adolescents were slightly underrepresented (PFR <1). Parents in lower educational categories were less likely to participate (PFR <1 in 5 countries). Parents in higher educational categories were overrepresented when the school and household sampling strategies were used (PFR = 1.78-2.97). CONCLUSION: School-based sampling achieved the highest overall response rates but also produced slightly more biased samples than the other methods. The results suggest that the samples were sufficiently representative to provide reference population values for the KIDSCREEN instrument.
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Encuestas Epidemiológicas , Psicometría/instrumentación , Calidad de Vida , Encuestas y Cuestionarios/normas , Adolescente , Niño , Europa (Continente) , Femenino , Estado de Salud , Humanos , Entrevistas como Asunto , Masculino , Psicometría/métodos , Instituciones Académicas , Factores SocioeconómicosRESUMEN
STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of two different socioeconomic status (SES) measures on child and adolescent self reported health related quality of life (HRQoL). The European KIDSCREEN project aims at simultaneous developing, testing, and implementing a generic HRQoL instrument. DESIGN AND SETTING: The pilot version of the questionnaire was applied in school surveys to students from 8 to 18 years of age, as well as to their parents, together with such determinants of health status as two SES indicators, the parental educational status and the number of material goods in the family (FAS, family affluence scale). PARTICIPANTS: Students from seven European countries: 754 children (39.8%; mean: 9.8 years), and 1142 adolescents (60.2 %; mean: 14.1 years), as well as their respective parents. MAIN RESULTS: In children, a higher parental educational status was found to have a significant positive impact on the KIDSCREEN dimensions: physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, moods and emotions, bullying and perceived financial resources. Increased risk of low HRQoL was detected for adolescents in connection with their physical wellbeing. Family wealth plays a part for children's physical wellbeing, parent relations and home life, and perceived financial resources. For adolescents, family wealth furthermore predicts HRQoL on all KIDSCREEN dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence to suggest that exposure to low parental educational status may result in a decreased HRQoL in childhood, whereas reduced access to material (and thereby social) resources may lead to a lower HRQoL especially in adolescence.
Asunto(s)
Estado de Salud , Calidad de Vida , Clase Social , Adolescente , Adulto , Niño , Escolaridad , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Padres/educación , Proyectos Piloto , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To assess whether gender and age differences can be found in different aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children and adolescents, and to what extent these results correspond to theoretical and empirical findings from developmental psychology. METHODS: A newly developed HRQOL questionnaire was completed by 3,710 youths aged nine to 17 years in seven European countries. The "Kidscreen 52" questionnaire consists of 10 scales operationalising aspects of the physical, psychological and social dimensions of HRQOL. With the use of ANOVA and effect sizes, the influence of age and gender on aspects of HRQOL is reported. RESULTS: Children report a very good quality of life largely independent of gender. After 12 years, HRQOL decreases in the majority of aspects. In the physical and psychological dimensions, a stronger decrease is found for females than for males. CONCLUSIONS: Children have higher HRQOL than adolescents in many aspects. With increasing age, HRQOL is frequently worse for females than for males. Examination of the individual aspects leads to a differentiation of the results with relevance for public health.