Does the subjective quality of life of children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) agree with their parents’ proxy reports?

Abstract

In the case of SpLD, the child's problem area, which is reflected in the KINDL(R) dimension of everyday functioning in school, seems to be an issue of controversial value that may be differentially perceived by children and their mothers. Further, it can be argued that as mothers seemed to perceive in a more negative way the child's QoL at school, they were at the same time attempting to counterbalance their reactions by overestimating the child's physical and emotional well-being. Besides differences, there is a tendency even low for mothers and children with SpLD to converge toward similar perceptions regarding the child's physical and emotional well-being and satisfaction with friends that is showing some rather common understanding of the child's overall well-being and his/her relationships with peers. In the control group, agreement between children and parents seems to be more even and evident. Proxy assessments in children with SpLD and their parents may be useful for planning targeted support interventions for these families.

Health-related quality of life among children with mental disorders: a systematic review

“…In contrast, other studies revealed HRQOL (sub)scale rankings that differed between children and parents. For instance, in the study on specific learning disorders, the ES for the self-rated 'school' subscale were not clinically meaningful, whereas parents rated this subscale in such a way as to produce the largest ES [31]. The authors provide multiple explanations for this discrepancy: like parents overemphasizing their child's difficulties in school, children underestimating their target problem to prevent themselves from stressful recognition, and children adjusting to their problem so no further limitations are experienced in the HRQOL subscale that targets academic functioning.…”

“…Some authors considered item overlapping as a possible explanation for this result [23; 25]. Furthermore, it is possible that parents may have over-emphasized the HRQOL aspect that is most closely related to the main problem their child has [31].…”

“…This pattern can be explained via different mechanisms; for instance, through parental worries about the present (e.g., meeting daily demands in school) and future (e.g., occupation potential) of their child [31]; and through parental feelings that they are to blame for their child's mental disorder [47]. Furthermore, the impact on parents could be heightened because these children need more support (e.g., doing homework), which leads to less free time for the parents, less time the parents have available for other family members, and their need for greater organizational effort to balance the child's care and parents' work [48].…”

Assessing parent–child agreement in health-related quality of life among three health status groups

“…In two review articles that mainly included physically ill or healthy children [10,11], as well as in studies among children with mental health problems [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], correlations and/or ICCs have ranged from poor to good.…”

“…When the means of self-and proxy ratings were compared, it was established that parents of physically ill children [11] as well as of children with mental disorders [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] rate most HRQOL domains (significantly) lower than the children themselves. With regard to non-clinical samples, Upton et al [11] proposed that this pattern was reversed (i.e., self-ratings \ parent ratings).…”