Cross‐Cultural Measurement Invariance of Adolescent Self‐Report on the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory^™ 4.0

Abstract

This study evaluated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0 (PedsQL™) among adolescents sampled from Bulgaria, Croatia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Serbia, and Turkey. The multiple-indicator multiple-cause (MIMIC) model was used, which allowed controlling of demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, and socioeconomic status). Significant effects of country on scores within the PedsQL™ domains were observed, with up to 17 items showing differential item functioning (DIF) across the countries. We did not find support for cross-cultural measurement invariance hypotheses for scores on the PedsQL™ adolescent self-report in this study. Researchers should use caution in making cross-cultural quality of life comparisons while using the PedsQL.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in Africa: a scoping review of its application and validation

“…Further examination of triangulated data would, however, be of interest to examine measurement invariance between parent, teacher and self-report versions, and cross-culturally. To date, measurement invariance for the different versions of the SDQ have yielded conflicting, and ambiguous findings [ 83 , 84 ].…”

“…de Vries and colleagues [ 82 ] also recommended that the SDQ could be useful as an ‘in-country’ instrument, but that it should be used with great caution as a ‘cross-country’ comparative measurement tool. There is clearly an increasing realisation of the need for cross-cultural measurement instruments in CAMH [ 83 , 84 , 89 ]. However, we acknowledge that, to date, most CAMH screening tools have not been developed with a global user in mind.…”

Gendered Paths Into STEM-Related and Language-Related Careers: Girls’ and Boys’ Motivational Beliefs and Career Plans in Math and Language Arts

“…In a longitudinal sample in Germany, Lazarides et al (2017) found that boys reported higher levels of interest and utility value in math and were more likely than girls to strive for math-related careers. Regarding gender differences in domains in which women are typically overrepresented, Nagy et al (2006) found that boys were less likely than girls to choose an advanced biology course in grade 12, and findings reported in Lauermann et al (2015) suggest that girls were more likely than boys to consider human services occupations, which tend to be verbal-intensive. Building on this previous evidence, we examine whether gender differences in students’ academic motivations, namely self-concepts of ability and task values, are linked to corresponding differences in adolescents’ career choices.…”

“…This research shows that women are often underrepresented in math-intensive fields like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) (Watt et al, 2012; Watt, 2016). By comparison, boys relative to girls are less likely to strive for jobs in social and human-services domains (Su and Rounds, 2015; Wolter et al, 2015), which often require higher levels of verbal than math skills (see National Center for O ∗ Net Development, 2014; Lauermann et al, 2015). Research based in expectancy-value theory (EVT; Eccles et al, 1983) and the dimensional comparison theory (DCT; Möller and Marsh, 2013) suggests that systematic differences in students’ domain-specific motivational beliefs (i.e., academic self-concepts and task values) can contribute to such gender-specific career paths.…”

“…Differences in academic beliefs about mathematics and language arts can thus potentially shape subsequent career preferences for occupations that are perceived as either math-intensive (e.g., STEM) or verbal-intensive (e.g., communication, teaching). Relatively few studies, however, have considered that intraindividual comparisons across such domains as math and language arts may also contribute to gendered educational and occupational choices (Nagy et al, 2006; Lauermann et al, 2015). A choice against a math-intensive career, for instance, may be linked to a comparatively higher interest in the verbal domain rather than a low interest in math.…”