Development of the Healthy Pathways Parent-Report Scales

Abstract

To describe the development of the Healthy Pathways Parent-Report Scales, measures of health, illness, well-being, and achievement among youth in middle childhood and adolescence. The Healthy Pathways Scales were derived from the Child Health and Illness Profile (CHIP) instruments. The CHIP domains of Comfort, Risk Avoidance, Satisfaction, and Resilience were modified to reflect advances in child health conceptualization. Classical test and modern psychometric analyses were conducted using data collected from 1,527 parents of children aged 9–14 years. Intra-class correlation and differential item functioning analyses were used to evaluate the extent of child–parent agreement on the Healthy Pathways Scales. After minor revisions, 11 of the 12 scales were found to measure unidimensional parent-assessed outcomes comprehensively (full range of the latent trait) and efficiently (a minimal number of items). Scales were unbiased by age, gender, and geographic location. The construct validity of the scales was supported by their capacity to differentiate children with and without chronic illnesses and to detect expected age and gender differences. Child–parent agreement was poor to moderate at both the scale and item levels. The Healthy Pathways Parent-Report Scales may be used to reliably, accurately, and efficiently assess unidimensional aspects of health, illness, well-being, and achievement in clinical and population-based research studies involving youth in middle childhood and adolescence.