Turkish validity and reliability of quality of life in autism questionnaire-parent version

Aim and hypothesis: 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. Method: 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. Parents filled out QoLA, Autism Behavior Checklist, KINDL-parent version, WHOQOL-BREF, WHO 5 well being index, and sociodemographic data form. Severity of ASD was determined by using Clinical Global Impression Scale. 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. 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 Section A and 0.944 for Section B. Intraclass correlation coefficient was detected 0.68 and 0.76 for Section A and B in test-retest, respectively. Positive correlation was found between Section A scores and WHOQOL-BREF, WHO-5 as well as Section B scores and KINDL-parent version. Criterion validity (sensitivity) analysis showed excellent output. The severity of the disease was found to be worsening in the relevant sections of the questionnaire while sescores increased. Conclusion: According to reliability and validity analysis, he psychometric properties of the Turkish form of QoLA is highly valid and reliable. 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.