The development of a theoretically driven generic measure of quality of life for children aged 6-12 years: a preliminary report

Objective To report the development and psychometric properties of a generi c computer-delivered measure of quality of life (QoL) suitable for children aged 6-12 years: the Exqol. The theoretical model adopted is based on an a ssumption that poorer QoL is the result of discrepancies between an individ ual's actual ('like me') and ideal self ('how I would like to be'). Method The Exqol consists of 12 pictures, each of which is rated twice; fir st in terms of 'like me' and second as 'I would like to be: The Exqol is de livered using a Macintosh Powerbook and takes approximately 20 min to compl ete. Data are reported for 58 children with asthma (Mage = 8.95 years) and 69 healthy children (Mage = 7.49 years). In order to determine validity of the Exqol, children with asthma also completed the Childhood Asthma Questio nnaire (CAQ) and their mothers completed a measure of child vulnerability a nd caregiver QoL. Results Higher discrepancies were found for children with asthma compared w ith healthy children (P < 0.05). For children with asthma, significant corr elations were found between discrepancy scores and two of the four subscale s of the CAQ. Children who rated their asthma to be more severe also had hi gher discrepancy scores (P < 0.05). Conclusions The Exqol has acceptable internal reliability and validity and distinguishes between children with asthma and healthy children. These data provide preliminary support for the theoretical assumption that QoL reflec ts perceived discrepancies between an individual's actual and ideal self. M ethodological refinements to the Exqol are suggested.