Reading Disability and Quality of Life Based on Both Self- and Parent-Reports: Importance of Gender Differences.

The aim of this study is to investigate self- and parent-rated quality of life (QoL) in children with a reading disability (RD) and the impact of comorbid psychopathology, with special focus on age and gender differences. Using the Dyslexia Differential Diagnosis Maastricht-Hungarian standard test, 127 children (aged < 18) were included in the RD group and 81 in the control group. To measure comorbid psychopathology, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was administered. To evaluate the children's QoL self- and parent-rated versions of the Measure of Quality of Life for Children and Adolescents (ILK) were used. Group differences in QoL and psychopathology were assessed using Mann-Whitney -tests. Moderated mediational models were tested in which comorbid psychopathology mediated the relationship between group membership and self- and parent-rated QoL, which was dependent on gender. Child's age and parents' level of education were included as covariates. The RD group showed lower QoL than the controls in several domains, according to the parent-report, while no differences between the two groups were found, according to self-report. In boys, results revealed conditional and indirect effects of group membership on self- and parent-rated QoL through comorbid psychopathology (-0.046, BCa 95% CI: -0.135 to 0.043 and 0.064, BCa 95% CI: 0.024-0.111, respectively) as well as a conditional direct effect of group membership on parent-reported (-0.098, BCa 95% CI: 0.012-0.184), but not self-rated, QoL. No relationship was found for girls. This study highlights the importance of measuring QoL and comorbid psychopathology in children with RDs from more sources and accounting for gender and age differences.