title: Confirmatory factor analysis of the PedsQL among youth in a residential treatment setting.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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 internal 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.
authors.affiliation: 213 Barkley Memorial Center, Lincoln, NE, 68583-0738, USA, steven.hoffman@unl.edu.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: Timothy D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Alexandra L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Trout
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012114:Residential Treatment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*