Turkish validity and reliability of Quality of Life in Autism Questionnaire-Parent Version

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate Turkish reliability and validity of Quality of Life in Autism Questionnaire-Parent Version (QoLA) which is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) specific quality of life scale. Methods: A total of 162 cases aged between 2-18 years diagnosed with pervaisive developmental disorders according to DSM-IV-TR criteria and their parents enrolled to study. QoLA, Autism Behavior Checklist, KINDL-parent version, WHOQOL-BREF, sociodemographic, and Clinical Global Impression Scale were applied to caregivers. Item-total correlation, ceilig/floor effect, internal consistency and test-retest were used for reliability analysis. Construct and criterion validity were applied for validity analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted using an exploratory approach to create an idea of the possible dimensions of part A and B which are indexes (not dimensions) in the original version. Results: Thirty-four of the patients (21%) were female and 128 (79%) were male. The mean age of all patients was 6.3 +/- 4.0 years. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.928 for QoLA Part A and 0.944 for Section B. Intraclass correlation coefficient was detected 0.68 and 0.76 for Part A and B in test-retest, respectively. Positive correlation was found between Part A scores and all dimensions of WHOQOL-BREF as well as Part B scores and school, friends, other and total scores of KINDL-parent proxy version. As the severity of the disease increased, relevant sections scores of the questionnaire was found to be worsening according to the criterion validity (sensitivity) analysis results. Six dimensions for Part A and 3 dimensions for Part B was detected by using exploratory factor analysis. Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the Turkish form of QoLA is highly valid and reliable. When examining distrubitons of items in 6 dimensions of Part A, dimensions can be named as independence, psychological-emotional well-being, social relations and environment, physical and economic and financial situation. For Part B, it was observed that 3 dimensions attributed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of ASD. QoLA is suggested to use to evaluate quality of life of parents with ASD diagnosed children and to detect the effects of treatment interventions on quality of life.