Spanish validation of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™ 4.0) for parent report for toddlers (ages 2–4)

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Health-related quality of life is a concept that includes aspects about physical, emotional and social well-being. The aim of the study was to validate the PedsQL for parent report for toddlers in Spain and provide reference data in a Spanish population. METHOD: The sample included 478 parents (89.5% mothers) of children aged 18–36 months (M = 26.75 months). Sociodemographic data were gathered, and the PedsQL and Kiddy-KINDL-R were completed by the participants. RESULTS: The fit of the original structure of the PedsQL was acceptable (CFI = 0.93; TLI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.06), and the results showed good internal consistency (α = 0.85). The items about nursery school were excluded, since not all the toddlers attended this type of educational centre. Significant differences were found in physical health and activities and in the total mean in terms of parent education level, and in social activities regarding gender. For the normative interpretation of the PedsQL, the first, second and third quartiles corresponded to 77.78, 84.72 and 90.28, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This instrument is not only useful to individually evaluate the quality of life of a child with respect to his/her group, but also to measure the efficacy of a possible intervention.