title: Psychometric properties and gender invariance of the Chinese version of the self-report Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0: short form is acceptable.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the psychometric properties and gender invariance of the Chinese version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) for 8- to 12-year-olds.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychometric testing and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used with a convenience sample of 8- to 12-year-old children (n = 479) for PedsQL full and short forms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The internal consistency reliability was satisfactory for all subscales and total scores (Cronbach's α = 0.73-0.90), except for the school subscale (0.68 [full form], 0.62 [short form]). Test-retest reliability was 0.67-0.84. Convergent validity was supported by the correlation between the Children's Depression Inventory and PedsQL psychosocial subscale (r = -0.69). Construct validity determined using CFA showed a better model fit in the short form (RMSEA = 0.06) than in the full form (RMSEA = 0.08). Measurement invariance across gender determined using nested CFA models showed that all absolute ΔRMSEA values were <0.01.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Chinese version of the PedsQL is a relatively reliable and valid instrument, and the PedsQL short form showed a better construct validity than did the full form. Measurement across gender was invariant; therefore, the comparisons of quality of life between boys and girls were appropriate.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Ying
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Wei-Ming
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Luh
authors.forename: Ai-Lun
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chia-Ting
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Jung-Der
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hui-Ing
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013624:Taiwan