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Performance of a new pubertal self-assessment questionnaire: a preliminary study
S J Taylor1, P H Whincup, P C Hindmarsh
1Department of General Practice and Primary Care, St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary and Westfield College, UK. s.j.c.taylor@mds.qmw.ac.uk
Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
|March 10, 2001
Summary
A new self-assessment questionnaire using Tanner puberty stages showed good agreement for pubic hair development and moderate agreement for genital development in adolescents. This tool may aid large-scale studies where direct examination is not feasible.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Adolescent Health
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Accurate assessment of pubertal status is crucial in pediatric endocrinology.
- Traditional methods often require direct physical examination, which can be challenging in large-scale studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the performance of a novel self-assessment questionnaire for measuring pubertal status.
- To compare questionnaire results with gold-standard physical examinations using Tanner puberty stages.
Main Methods:
- A self-assessment questionnaire with gender-specific line drawings of Tanner stages was administered to 108 children (aged 12-16) attending a pediatric endocrinology clinic.
- Results were compared against physical examinations performed by clinic doctors.
- Statistical analysis included kappa statistics to assess inter-rater agreement.
Main Results:
- Good agreement (kappa = 0.68) was found for pubic hair distribution Tanner stage (88% agreement within one stage).
- Moderate agreement (kappa = 0.48) was observed for female breast/male genitalia Tanner stage (76% agreement within one stage).
- Children tended to underestimate their pubertal development stage.
Conclusions:
- The self-assessment questionnaire demonstrates good to moderate agreement with clinical assessments for Tanner puberty stages.
- This tool holds potential utility for epidemiological studies and settings where direct examination is impractical.
- Further validation in broader adolescent populations is recommended.