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Parental assessment of adolescent quality of life: can it replace self-assessment?

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Abstract

Purpose

(a) To compare the agreement between adolescent assessments of their quality of life (QoL) and that of their mothers; (b) to explore how the comparison is influenced by the method of analysis.

Methods

Forty-nine adolescents aged 12–18 years who received liver transplants, and their mothers completed the Child Health Questionnaire self (CF87) and parent (PF50) report.

Results

There was wide variation in agreement between adolescent and parent responses depending on the method of analysis used. Analysis with t test showed no differences in physical function (t = 1.42, P = 0.16), role/social-physical (t = 0.07, P = 0.94), mental health (t = 0.55, P = 0.59) and family activities (t = −0.40, P = 0.69). Using Pearson correlation coefficients, there were significant correlations in every domain; however, there were no intraclass correlation or concordance correlation coefficients ≥0.80 suggesting less than strong agreement. Finally, the Bland–Altman comparison indicated wide variation in the 95% limits of agreement ranging from −46 to 58.5.

Conclusions

There was considerable inconsistency in agreement according to the methods of analysis. The wide variation in scores between adolescent and parent assessment of QoL suggests self rather than proxy report should be used as the primary outcome where possible.

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Abbreviations

CHQ:

Child health questionnaire

CCC:

Concordance correlation coefficient

ICC:

Intraclass correlation coefficient

M:

Mean

PROMIS:

Patient reported outcomes measurement information system

QoL:

Quality of life

SD:

Standard deviation

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted in the Paediatric Liver Unit at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in part fulfilment of a doctorate in nursing at King’s College London.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Institute, University College London, London, UK

    Rachel M. Taylor

  2. Department of Children’s Nursing, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London, SE1 0AA, UK

    Rachel M. Taylor & Faith Gibson

  3. Formerly employed by the Division of Health & Social Care Research, King’s College London, London, UK

    Andy Grieve

  4. Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK

    Faith Gibson

  5. Paediatric Liver, Gastrointestinal & Nutrition Centre, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Anil Dhawan

  6. Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Linda S. Franck

Authors
  1. Rachel M. Taylor
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  2. Andy Grieve
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  3. Faith Gibson
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  4. Anil Dhawan
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  5. Linda S. Franck
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Correspondence to Rachel M. Taylor.

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Taylor, R.M., Grieve, A., Gibson, F. et al. Parental assessment of adolescent quality of life: can it replace self-assessment?. Qual Life Res 20, 1715–1720 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-9904-9

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