Abstract
Objective
To determine the sociodemographic variables (gender, age, level of formal education and cohabitation) that have influenced the perception of health-related quality of life of adolescents.
Methods
This was a descriptive, correlational and quantitative study including a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 567 adolescents. Of these, 50.6% were girls and attended 2nd and 3rd cycles of basic education in grouping of schools in central Portugal. The participants mean age was 12.4 years-old (SD = 1.59), boys age ranged from 9 to 16 years-old and girls from 10 to 17, most of them lived within a nuclear family (77.4%). Data were collected from January to June 2018 using a Portuguese version of Kidscreen-52(1) scale along with a questionnaire of sociodemographic characterization. The IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (Version 24.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp) was used for statistical analyses.
Results
Adolescents have a positive perception of their quality of life regarding health. A statistical difference related with age, One-way ANOVA test (F = 31.980; p = 0.000), school year (F = 15.293; p = 0.000) and cohabitation (F = 11.491; p = 0.010).
Conclusion
Boys present a higher perception of quality of life, as well as younger adolescents and those who live with their parents (mother and father).
Adolescent health; Quality of life; Perception