Data on a smaller subset of parents with complete information for the child's dental examination (N = 186) were used to assess the validity (convergent and discriminant) of the ECOHIS.
Convergent validity was evaluated based on Spearman's rank order correlations: 1. between child and family ECOHIS scores and two subjective (dental and general) self-reported health measures; and 2. between the child and family sections of the ECOHIS. The global health rating question asked the parent, "In general, how would you rate the overall health of your child?" The dental health rating question asked, "In general, how would you rate the dental health of your child?" The response options for the two questions were: 1. = Excellent, 2. = Very Good, 3. = Good, 4. = Fair, and 5. = Poor. We hypothesized that a parent who reported higher scores on the two sections of the ECOHIS (indicating worse quality of life for child) would be more likely to rate the general and dental health of his or her child fair or poor. We also hypothesized that the child and family sections of the ECOHIS would be significantly correlated because parents' assessment of their child's oral health is likely to be closely related to parental perceptions of the effect of their child's oral health on their family.
Discriminant validity was evaluated by comparing ECOHIS scores for children with one or more decayed and/or treated teeth to those without any dental disease. We also examined the ability of ECOHIS to discriminate among children with varying levels of dental disease. Two hypotheses were tested using ANOVA: 1. Parents of children with dental disease and/or dental treatment experience would report higher ECOHIS scores (indicating worse OHRQL) than parents of children free of dental disease experience. 2. Among children with dental disease and/or dental treatment experience, those with more dental disease/treatment experience would have worse OHRQL. We expected these relationships to hold for both the sections of the ECOHIS.
Convergent validity was evaluated based on Spearman's rank order correlations: 1. between child and family ECOHIS scores and two subjective (dental and general) self-reported health measures; and 2. between the child and family sections of the ECOHIS. The global health rating question asked the parent, "In general, how would you rate the overall health of your child?" The dental health rating question asked, "In general, how would you rate the dental health of your child?" The response options for the two questions were: 1. = Excellent, 2. = Very Good, 3. = Good, 4. = Fair, and 5. = Poor. We hypothesized that a parent who reported higher scores on the two sections of the ECOHIS (indicating worse quality of life for child) would be more likely to rate the general and dental health of his or her child fair or poor. We also hypothesized that the child and family sections of the ECOHIS would be significantly correlated because parents' assessment of their child's oral health is likely to be closely related to parental perceptions of the effect of their child's oral health on their family.
Discriminant validity was evaluated by comparing ECOHIS scores for children with one or more decayed and/or treated teeth to those without any dental disease. We also examined the ability of ECOHIS to discriminate among children with varying levels of dental disease. Two hypotheses were tested using ANOVA: 1. Parents of children with dental disease and/or dental treatment experience would report higher ECOHIS scores (indicating worse OHRQL) than parents of children free of dental disease experience. 2. Among children with dental disease and/or dental treatment experience, those with more dental disease/treatment experience would have worse OHRQL. We expected these relationships to hold for both the sections of the ECOHIS.
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