Citation

Spencer N. Child Care Health Dev. 2006; 32(5): 603-604.

Affiliation

Warwick UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1365-2214.2006.00674_2.x

PMID

16919141

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of two different socio-economic status (SES) measures on child and adolescent self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The European KIDSCREEN project aims at simultaneous developing, testing and implementing a generic HRQoL instrument. The pilot version of the questionnaire was applied in school surveys to students from 8 to 18 years of age, as well as to their parents, together with such determinants of health status as two SES indicators, the parental educational status and the number of material goods in the family (family affluence scale). Students from seven European countries: 754 children (39.8%; mean: 9.8 years), and 1142 adolescents (60.2%; mean: 14.1 years), as well as their respective parents. In children, a higher parental educational status was found to have a significant positive impact on the KIDSCREEN dimensions: physical well-being, psychological well-being, moods and emotions, bullying and perceived financial resources. Increased risk of low HRQoL was detected for adolescents in connection with their physical well-being. Family wealth plays a part for children's physical well-being, parent relations and home life, and perceived financial resources. For adolescents, family wealth furthermore predicts HRQoL on all KIDSCREEN dimensions. There is evidence to suggest that exposure to low parental educational status may result in a decreased HRQoL in childhood, whereas reduced access to material (and thereby social) resources may lead to a lower HRQoL especially in adolescence.

Language: en