Child and parent perspectives of life quality of children with physical impairments compared with non-disabled peers

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the participating children and the children of participating parents.

	Children with physical impairment		Children in control group
	Children self-report, n (%)	Parent-proxy report, n (%)	Children self-report, n (%)	Parent-proxy report, n (%)
Gender
Boy	17 (50)	22 (55)	240 (55.9)	260 (57.8)
Girl	17 (50)	18 (45)	189 (44.1)	190 (42.2)
Age range (years)
8-11	11 (32.4)	12 (30)	151 (35.2)	170 (37.8)
12-18	23 (67.6)	28 (70)	278 (64.8)	280 (62.2)
Type of impairment
Cerebral Palsy	24 (70.6)	30 (75.0)	–	–
Spina Bifida	4 (11.8)	4 (10.0)	–	–
Neuromuscular disorders	6 (17.6)	6 (15.0)	–	–
Residence
Capital region	24 (70.6)	27 (67.5)	245 (57.1)	257 (57.1)
Small towns and rural areas	10 (29.4)	13 (32.5)	184 (42.9)	193 (42.9)
Type of school setting
Mainstream	30 (88.2)	35 (87.5)	416 (97.0)	437 (97.1)
Special education class	4 (11.8)	5 (12.5)	13 (3.0)	13 (2.9)

Figure 1. Conception of the KIDSCREEN-27 dimensions [29].

Figure 2. Life quality scores based on self- and proxy-reports in both groups of children.

Table 2. Comparison of children’s and parents’ ratings: Independent sample t-tests and effect sizes.

	Children self-report		Parent proxy-report		Independent sample t-test		Effect size^b
	n^a	Mean (SD)	n^a	Mean (SD)	T	P	ɳ^2
Children with physical impairments
Physical well-being	33	45.97 (9.67)	37	36.85 (7.41)	4.451	0.001	0.23
Psychological well-being	33	52.46 (12.73)	39	42.14 (11.40)	3.628	0.001	0.16
Autonomy and parent relations	33	52.13 (7.89)	39	50.14 (7.23)	1.119	0.267	0.02
Social support and peers	34	50.19 (10.21)	38	44.53 (13.09)	2.029	0.046	0.06
School environment	34	52.91 (12.16)	39	47.35 (10.80)	2.070	0.042	0.06
Children in control group
Physical well-being	426	53.34 (10.81)	446	50.20 (10.15)	4.423	0.001	0.02
Psychological well-being	418	53.69 (10.47)	433	50.85 (9.90)	4.057	0.001	0.02
Autonomy and parent relations	400	52.75 (10.05)	410	51.15 (8.98)	2.392	0.002	0.01
Social support and peers	424	50.14 (8.99)	422	49.22 (9.93)	1.408	0.159	0.01
School environment	420	52.78 (10.11)	426	51.56 (9.61)	1.793	0.073	0.01

^a n may vary due to unanswered questions.

^b Interpretation of ɳ²: 0.01 = small effect; 0.06 = medium effect; 0.14 = large effect.

KIDSCREEN Group Europe. The KIDSCREEN questionnaires: quality of life questionnaires for children and adolescents – Handbook. Lengerich: Pabst Science Publishers; 2006.

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