THE FIRST STEP IN VALIDATING THE PedsQL™ – FAMILY IMPACT MODULE QUESTIONNAIRE IN ROMANIA. THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF PARENTS WITH CHILDREN WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER

Objectives. The study’s objectives were to test the psychometric properties of the Romanian version of The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) – Family Impact Module (PedsQL™ – FIM), an instrument that evaluates the quality of life of parents of children with chronic illnesses, and to provide a general characterization of life’s quality. Material and Methods. The Romanian version of the PedsQL™ – FIM was obtained based on a request from the developer through the Mapi Research Trust, and the questionnaire was applied to 108 parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed, the internal consistency, the convergent validity and the discriminant validity were also calculated. Results. The Romanian version of the PedsQL™ – FIM passed the CFA and EFA tests, showing satisfactory internal consistency for all scales, with nearly all standardized coefficients above 0.7. Its use highlighted significant deteriorations in total quality of life scores and scores for emotional, social, cognitive functioning, communication, worry, daily activities, and family relationships scales. Conclusions. The application of the PedsQL™ – FIM confirmed the results of international studies – the quality of life of parents of children with ASD is severely deteriorated due to the stress generated by the child’s illness, especially their disruptive behaviors. Evaluating the quality of life of parents of children with ASD using this instrument provides a solid foundation for support interventions for these parents, helping them become more functional physically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Keywords: autistic spectrum, quality of life, parents.