Department of Pharmacy Administration, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi , Faser Hall Room 236, PO Box 1848, University, MS, 38677, USA ,
Qual Life Res. 2013 Dec;22(10):2909-20. doi: 10.1007/s11136-013-0423-8. Epub 2013 Apr 25.
This study aimed to ascertain the psychometric properties of EuroQol Five Dimensional Questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L) in primary caregivers of children with autism. The convergent validity, discriminant validity, known-groups validity, internal consistency reliability, and floor and ceiling effects of EQ-5D-3L were analyzed.
A cross-sectional design was used for study purposes. Through an online survey, relevant study information was collected from 316 primary caregivers of children with autism. Study participants were from families of children with autism living in the United States who were registered with the Interactive Autism Network. Convergent validity of the EQ-5D-3L was assessed through its correlation with other measures of similar constructs. Discriminant validity was assessed by observing the correlation of EQ-5D-3L domains with theoretically unrelated constructs. Known-groups validity was tested by comparing EQ-5D-3L index and visual analog scale (VAS) scores across levels of autism severity among the care recipients. Internal consistency reliability of EQ-5D-3L was tested. Lastly, floor and ceiling effects of EQ-5D-3L were assessed.
More than 60 % of participants reported problems of 'anxiety/depression.' Convergent and discriminant validity of the EQ-5D-3L was good. Significant correlation (convergent validity) was observed among EQ-5D-3L index and VAS and (SF-12v2) physical component summary and mental component summary scores. Caregivers' EQ-5D-3L index and VAS scores varied by levels of autism severity among care recipients, providing evidence of known-groups validity. Reliability assessed through Cronbach's alpha was less than satisfactory; however, corrected item-total correlations were adequate.
The EQ-5D-3L is a psychometrically sound tool to elicit health state preferences among caregivers of children with autism.
本研究旨在确定儿童自闭症患者主要照顾者的欧洲五维健康量表（EQ-5D-3L）的心理测量特性。分析了 EQ-5D-3L 的收敛效度、区分效度、已知组效度、内部一致性信度以及地板和天花板效应。
采用横断面设计进行研究。通过在线调查，从美国自闭症儿童家庭的 316 名主要照顾者中收集了相关研究信息。研究参与者来自与交互式自闭症网络注册的自闭症儿童家庭。通过与其他类似结构的测量方法的相关性来评估 EQ-5D-3L 的收敛效度。通过观察 EQ-5D-3L 各领域与理论上不相关的结构的相关性来评估区分效度。通过比较受照顾者自闭症严重程度不同的 EQ-5D-3L 指数和视觉模拟量表（VAS）评分来检验已知组的有效性。测试 EQ-5D-3L 的内部一致性信度。最后，评估 EQ-5D-3L 的地板和天花板效应。
超过 60%的参与者报告存在“焦虑/抑郁”问题。EQ-5D-3L 的收敛和区分效度良好。EQ-5D-3L 指数与 VAS 以及（SF-12v2）物理成分综合和心理成分综合评分之间存在显著相关性（收敛效度）。照顾者的 EQ-5D-3L 指数和 VAS 评分因受照顾者的自闭症严重程度而异，这为已知组的有效性提供了证据。通过克朗巴赫α评估的可靠性不太令人满意；然而，校正后的项目总分相关性是足够的。
EQ-5D-3L 是一种可靠的心理测量工具，可用于评估自闭症儿童照顾者的健康状况偏好。
