The Child Health Questionnaire in Australia: reliability, validity and population means.
OBJECTIVE
To provide reliability, validity and population means for the Australian Authorized Adaptation of the parent-report Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ).


METHODS
We surveyed a representative sample of Australian parents of school-aged children (5-18 years) in Victoria between July and December 1997, using a school-based cluster sample design stratified by educational sector and age.


RESULTS
Some 5,414 parents responded (72%). Good psychometric performance was observed for the CHQ in Australia. Population means demonstrated differences in health on domains of functioning and well-being by age and gender. This population-derived sample demonstrated high ceiling values on Physical Functioning and Social Role scales.


CONCLUSIONS
The CHQ appears to be a reliable and valid measure of child and adolescent functional health and well-being for the Australian population. Child health outcomes of children and adolescents with particular conditions or within population subgroups can be compared with these age and gender benchmarks. Appropriate uses for the CHQ may be to discriminate between children who are generally healthy and children with health problems, or in population surveys partnered with measures that extend the range of physical functioning and social functioning.
Waters
E
E
Centre for Community Child Health, University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria. waterse@cryptic.rch.unimelb.edu.au
Salmon
L
L
Wake
M
M
Hesketh
K
K
Wright
M
M
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014739:Victoria