Parent-child agreement in the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A longitudinal study

Objectives: To assess parent-child agreement on changes over a short-term period of time in the HRQOL of children treated for AND over a short period of time, and to compare child and parent ratings of children with AND with general population norms. Methods: Prospective study in children 6-12 years old with ADHD. Children and parents completed the Spanish versions of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Child Edition (CHIP-CE) before and after 8 weeks of treatment. CHIP-PE scores at both visits were compared using paired t tests and effect sizes (ES), intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), and scatter plots. Child and parent ratings were compared with CHIP-CE scores for a general population sample. Results: Thirty-one children and parents were included in the analysis. The highest change between the first and the follow-up visit was on the Risk Avoidance domain both children and parents (effect size [ES] = 0.24 and 0.40, respectively). The ICC ranged from 44 (Satisfaction) to 0.01 (Risk avoidance). Child self-ratings were close to general population values. All domains of the parent version presented standardized means below the reference values at the baseline visit and closer to the general population norm after treatment. Conclusions: This study found poor parent-child agreement and suggests that both ratings should be collected in future studies on the impact of AND and treatment effectiveness. (C) 2008 Asociacion Espanola de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.