Childhood Asthma Questionnaires

Name of Questionnaire

Childhood Asthma Questionnaire

Description

There are three separate pediatric asthma scales grouped under this heading. The CAQ-A is designed for children aged 4-7, the CAQ-B for children 8-11, and the CAQ-C for children 12-16. All three versions tap quality of life and the level of distress caused by the disease. Responses are in the form of "smiley" faces, and the questionnaires are completed, at least for younger children, with the help of the parent.

Developer:

DJ French

Address

DJ French
Department of Psychology
University of Western Australia
Nedlands, WA 6907
Australia
Fax: 61-8-9180

E-mail

davina@psy.uwa.edu.au

Cost & Availability

Contact DJ French.

Administration

Self, with help from parent as needed

Time to complete

10-15 minutes

Number of items

CAQ-A: 14 items

CAQ-B: 23 items

CAQ-C: 41 items

Domains & categories

CAQ-A: 2 domains

CAQ-B: 4 domains

CAQ-C: 5 domains

Name of categories/domains

CAQ-A: quality of life, distress

CAQ-B: active quality of life, passive quality of life, distress, severity

CAQ-C: active quality of life, teenage quality of life, distress, severity, reactivity

Scaling of items

CAQ-A: 4-point scale of smiley faces

CAQ-B, CAQ-C: 5-point scale of smiley faces

Scoring

In each form, the happiest face scores the highest number and the most unhappy face receives the lowest score.

Reliability

Validity

Discriminant validity demonstrated through different scores for asthmatic and non-asthmatic children ¹ .

Responsiveness

Not reported

Minimally important difference

Not determined.

Research use

Not reported.

Clinical use

Not reported.

Language

Original: English

References

1. French DJ, Christie MJ, Sowden AJ. The reproducibility of the Childhood Asthma Questionnaires: measures of quality of life for children with asthma aged 4-16 years. Qual Life Res 1994;3:215-24.
2. Christie MJ, French D, Sowden A, West A. Development of child-centered disease-specific questionnaires for living with asthma. Psychosom Med 1993;55:541-8.

Date of information

March 1999