Play Performance Scale as an Index of Quality of Life of Children With Cancer

This study explores the reliability and validity of the Play Performance Scale for Children (PPSC; a parental rating scale of child play behavior) as a measure of quality of life among 120 children with cancer who were either hospitalized patients receiving treatment, outpatients receiving treatment, or patients who had completed their treatment. Interrater reliability between parents and physicians was significant in each patient group and overall. Parent ratings on the PPSC were highly correlated with ratings on visual analog scales of quality of life, mood, and physical comfort and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the PPSC ratings of parents and physicians were most influenced by the child's physical symptoms. Neither the PPSC nor the other measures were able to discriminate outpatients receiving therapy from patients who had completed therapy, despite significant group differences between inpatients and outpatients.