title: How to assess quality of life in child and adolescent psychiatry.
abstract: This article provides an overview of the conceptual foundations of measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children and adolescents in child and adolescent psychiatry, and of the current state of research in this field. The available procedures for determining quality of life are presented according to their areas of use and their psychometric characteristics. The internationally available generic instruments for measuring HRQoL in children are identified and assessed in terms of their strengths and weaknesses with regard to selected criteria. As a result, seven generic HRQoL instruments and two utility procedures have been identified which satísfy the following criteria: (i) psychometric qualíty; (ii) age-appropriate measurement; (iii) versions for self-reporting and external rating; and (iv) cross-cultural measurement. The identified instruments satisfy the individual criteria to different degrees. They are increasingly being used in health services research, treatment studies, and epidemiological research; however, they are not yet widely used as part of the clinical routine in child and adolescent psychiatrics.
authors.affiliation: Child Public Health Research Unit, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ravens-Sieberer
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Clinic, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karow
authors.affiliation: Child Public Health Research Unit, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barthel
authors.affiliation: Child Public Health Research Unit, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Fionna
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Klasen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: (generic) instrument; adolescent; child; quality of life