Reliability and validity of the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire to measure health related quality of life in the 8 to 18 year-old Argentinean population.

INTRODUCTION The KIDSCREEN questionnaire is an instrument to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL). It allows to differentiate health levels or to assess the efficacy of interventions. The objective was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Argentine version of the questionnaire in the population aged 8-18 years-old in the city of Bahía Blanca. POPULATION AND METHODS Cross sectional study conducted in public and private schools in 2008 using a district-stratified sampling. The questionnaire was self-administered and included the KIDSCREEN questionnaire (52 items) and questions about age, gender and family socioeconomic level (SEL). Reliability was analyzed using standard psychometric analysis techniques and the item response theory. The analysis of the factorial structure was performed using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and that of the construct validity was conducted comparing dimension mean scores by age, gender and SEL. RESULTS Most dimensions had a Cronbach's alpha of >0.7 and 80% of items, and sufficient infit or outfit values (<0.8). The CFA showed an adequate data adjustment to the ten-dimension structure. The mean values of the dimensions confirmed lower scores in adolescents than in children, and lower scores in females than in males, as expected in several of the HRQoL dimensions. CONCLUSIONS The reliability and validity of the Argentinean version of the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire were acceptable; therefore its use can be recommended for the 8-18 year-old Argentinean population.