Abstract
BackgroundOral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) research among children and adolescents in Lithuania is just starting and no measures have been validated to date. Therefore, this study aimed to validate a Lithuanian version of the full (37 items) Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11–14) within a random sample of children aged 11 to 14.MethodsA cross-sectional survey among a randomly selected sample of schoolchildren (N = 307) aged 11 to14 was conducted. An anonymous questionnaire included the full CPQ11–14 and items on global life satisfaction, oral health and oral life quality self-rating. The questionnaire was translated into Lithuanian using translation guidelines. In addition, an item on the oral pain was modified identifying the pain location. Standard tests (Cronbach’s α, construct validity and discriminant validity), supplemented with both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, were employed for psychometric evaluation of the instrument. The questionnaire was also tested by comparison students’ and their parents’ (N = 255) responses about oral symptoms and functional limitations.ResultsThe modified Lithuanian version of CPQ11–14 revealed good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha for the total scale was 0.88). The measure showed significant associations with perceived oral health status and oral well-being, as well as with global life satisfaction (p < 0.01). Discriminant validity of the instrument was approved by comparison of children’s groups defined by self-reported caries experience and malocclusion. Factor analysis revealed a complex structure with two or three factors in each of four domains of the CPQ11–14. Excellent or acceptable levels of indices of model fitting with the given data were obtained for oral symptoms, functional limitations and emotional well-being domains, but not for the social well-being domain. A significant association between child and parental responses was found (intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.56 and 0.43, correspondingly in domains of oral symptoms and functional limitations).ConclusionThe Lithuanian version of the CPQ11–14 (with a modified item that identifies location of oral pain) appears to be a valid instrument to be used in further studies for measuring OHRQoL among 11 to 14 year old children in Lithuania.
Highlights
Oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) research among children and adolescents in Lithuania is just starting and no measures have been validated to date
The respondents represented all social groups by family affluence levels: 32 (10.7%) of low, 105 (35.1%) of middle and 162 (54.2%) of high (8 missing cases) level; and by residence area: 221 (72.2%) of urban and 86 (27.8%) of rural residence
Factor 1 combined four items (“Bleeding gums” (O2), “Food caught in or between teeth” (O5), “Bad breath” (O4), and “Food stuck to roof of mouth” (O6)), while the factor 2 combined two items (“Mouth sores” (O3), and “Pain in teeth, lips, jaws or mouth” (O1))
Summary
Oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) research among children and adolescents in Lithuania is just starting and no measures have been validated to date. There is no consensus on the definition of OHRQoL in children and adolescents, nor what aspects should be measured, it is generally accepted that OHRQoL is a multidimensional construct [4, 5] It encompasses factors with four broad dimensions: the existence of discomfort or pain; functional factors; psychological factors; and social factors. The CPQ was, the first and most widely used inventory designed to assess the impact of oral conditions on quality of life in children [6, 7] It was developed in 2002 by Jokovic et al [11] as the CPQ11–14 for children aged 11 to 14 and was originally validated in children with caries, malocclusion and craniofacial anomalies. The CPQ has been translated, validated and adapted to suit a number of languages and socio-cultural contexts demonstrating its applicability and perfect psychometric properties on numerous clinical and epidemiological occasions [6, 15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]
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