Parental perceptions of children's quality of life: effects of a school health education program

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the school health education program ‘Skills for elementary school children’ on parents' perceptions for the health-related quality of life of their children. Two hundred and nineteen (n = 219) parents of upper grade students participated. One hundred and nine (n = 109) formed the experimental group as their children participated in the ‘Social Skills for Children in Primary School Program’ while one hundred and ten (n = 110) formed the control group. For the evaluation of health-related quality of life, Kidscreen 52 was applied. Results showed that the perceptions of parents in the experimental group were improved significantly for physical and psychological well-being, autonomy, family life, friends, school environment, and social acceptance of their children. Similar improvement, although smaller, was found for the control group. Also, apart from reporting higher perceptions in the final measurement of all the above variables, parents in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group with regard to their children's mood and feelings, self-concept, and financial resources. It seems that such a program can affect positively parents' perceptions about their children's quality of life. This finding is considered important since parents' perceptions could influence their decisions and behavior toward their children, and affect further their quality of life.