Confirmatory factor analysis of the PedsQL among youth in a residential treatment setting

Keywords

quality of life, health, adolescent, residential treatment

Abstract

Purpose The Pediatric Quality of Life assessment (PedsQL™) is the most widely used measure for assessing adolescent health-related quality of life (HRQoL). While youth in residential treatment facilities face many physical and mental health, behavioral, education, and familial challenges that could impact their HRQoL, no research has sought to assess the factor structure of the PedsQL™ among youth receiving residential care.

Methods High school-aged youth (N = 229) attending a large residential treatment center in Omaha, NE were recruited to complete a data collection packet comprised of various health assessments including the PedsQL. Four competing confirmatory factor analysis models were used to test the hypothesized intoernal structure of the PedsQL™ 4.0 Teen Report.

Results Models A, B, and C had acceptable CFI (≥.90), TLI (≥.90), and RMSEA (≤.08) fit indicators. However, factor loadings for items 5 and 6 were problematic. After removing the two problematic items, Model D was fit to the data and proved to be the superior of the four models. This model included two first-order factors (physical health problems; school attendance problems) and one second-order factor (psychological health problems).

Conclusions The findings suggest that researchers and practitioners studying youth in residential settings can reliably use the PedsQL™ to assess their HRQoL.

Original Publication Citation

Hoffman, S., Lambert, M., Nelson, T. D., Trout, A. L., Epstein, M. H., & Pick, R. (2013). Confirmatory factor analysis of the PedsQL among youth in a residential treatment setting. Quality of Life Research, 22, 2151- 2157.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2012-11-30

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6815

Publisher

Quality of Life Research

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Social Work

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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