Psychometric evaluation and wording effects on the Chinese version of the parent-proxy Kid-KINDL.
BACKGROUND
The pediatric quality of life (QoL) questionnaire, the child-rated Kid-KINDL, has wording effects. However, no studies have examined for its parallel questionnaire, the parent-proxy Kid-KINDL. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties and wording effects of the parent-proxy Kid-KINDL.


METHODS
Parents with 8- to 12-year-old children (n = 247) completed the parent-proxy Kid-KINDL, 83 of them completed it again 7-14 days later, and 241 of their children completed the child-rated Kid-KINDL. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's α; test-retest reliability and concurrent validity, using Pearson correlation coefficients (r); construct validity and wording effects, using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs).


RESULTS
The internal consistency of the parent-proxy Kid-KINDL total score was acceptable (α = .86). Test-retest reliability (r = .33-.60) and concurrent validity (r = .27-.42) were acceptable or nearly acceptable for all subscales and the total score. The CFA models simultaneously accounting for QoL traits and wording effects had satisfactory fit indices, and outperformed the model accounting only for QoL traits. However, four subscales had unsatisfactory internal consistency, which might be attributable to wording effects.


CONCLUSIONS
When children are unable to complete a QoL questionnaire, the parent-proxy Kid-KINDL can substitute with all due cautions to wording effects and inconsistent reliability among different raters.
Department of Family Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.|Institute of Physical Education, Health and Leisure Studies, College of Management, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Chih-Ting
CT
Lee
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 11 Yuk Choi Road, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. cylin36933@gmail.com.
Chung-Ying
CY
Lin
Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Road, Tainan, 70101, Taiwan. ache93@yahoo.com.tw.
Meng-Che
MC
Tsai
Department of Public Health, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Carol
C
Strong
Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yi-Ching
YC
Lin
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D019727:Proxy; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014177:Translations
Children; Confirmatory factor analysis; Kid-KINDL; Parent proxy; Wording effect