Psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Kidscreen-27 questionnaire

BACKGROUND: The Norwegian version of the Kidscreen-27, a measure of generic health-related quality of life, has not yet been validated. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Norwegian Kidscreen-27, in 10 year-old children. METHODS: The Kidscreen-27 consists of five domains and was validated in a cross-sectional study of 1085 school children (52.5 % boys). In addition a subsample of 56 children also had repeated measures in order to study test-retest reliability. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.73 to 0.83, while intraclass correlation values over time ranged from 0.71 to 0.81. The domains of physical well-being, psychological well-being and autonomy & parents improved over time (Ps < 0.05), while social support and school environment domains did not. Confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable overall model fit: X(2) = 707; df = 310; P <0.001, root mean squared error of approximation = 0.037, the comparative fit index = 0.96 and the Tucker-Lewis index = 0.95. All factor loading were > 0.40. The Kidscreen-27 domains were significantly associated with general life satisfaction as measured with the Cantrils Ladder (Spearman rank correlations ranged from 0.29 to 0.59, Ps < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The Norwegian version of Kidscreen-27 has good reliability and validity. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-016-0460-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.