Validity and reliability of the Child Perceptions Questionnaires applied in Brazilian children

BACKGROUND: The Child Perceptions Questionnaires (CPQ(8–10 )and CPQ(11–14)) are indicators of child oral health-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the self-applied CPQ(8–10 )and CPQ(11–14 )in Brazilian children, after translations and cultural adaptations in the Brazilian Portuguese language. METHODS: Schoolchildren were recruited from general populations for pre-testing (n = 80), validity (n = 210), and test-retest reliability (n = 50) studies. They were also examined for dental caries, gingivitis, fluorosis, and malocclusion. RESULTS: Children with greater dental caries experience in primary dentition had higher impacts on CPQ domains. Girls had higher scores for CPQ(8–10 )domains than boys. Mean CPQ(11–14 )scores were highest for 11-year-old children and lowest for 14-year-old children. Construct validity was supported by significant associations between the CPQ(8–10 )and CPQ(11–14 )scores and the global rating of oral health (r = 0.38, r = 0.43) and overall well-being (r = 0.39, r = 0.60), respectively. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.95 for both questionnaires. The test-retest reliabilities of the overall CPQ(8–10 )and CPQ(11–14 )scores were both excellent (ICC = 0.96, ICC = 0.92). CONCLUSION: The Brazilian Portuguese version of CPQ(8–10 )and CPQ(11–14 )was valuable and reliable for use in the Brazilian child population, although discriminant validity was sporadic due to the fact that impacts are mediated by others factors, such personal, social, and environmental variables.