Translation and validation of the italian version of the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ) among adolescents

The Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ) is a valid tool aiming to evaluate the self-reported influence of dental aesthetics on quality of life. This questionnaire was developed in English for young adults, and later translated and validated with an Italian population. A new version of the questionnaire was recently introduced to be used in adolescents (11-17 years-old), but it had not been translated in Italian yet. Hence, the purpose of this study was to translate, crossculturally adapt and validate the PIDAQ for adolescents, for its use among Italian subjects. Methods To develop the Italian PIDAQ, the original version was translated, back-translated, cross-culturally adapted and pre-tested. Afterwards, the Italian PIDAQ was administered to a convenience sample of 677 subjects, aged 11-17 years, together with two other written questionnaires: the Aesthetic Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN-AC) and the Perception of Occlusion Scale (POS), which are instruments dedicated to assess the self-reported degree of malocclusion. A one-way ANOVA was performed to assess the difference between groups, within each PIDAQ factor, according to POS and IOTN-AC scores. The correlation between PIDAQ factors and POS/IOTNAC scores was measured as Spearman's rank correlation. The internal consistency was assessed as Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α), and the test-retest reproducibility as Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Results The one-way ANOVA showed that all the factors of the self-reported impact of dental aesthetics on quality of life significantly increased as the degree of malocclusion worsened (P < 0.001). Furthermore, all the factors showed statistically significant correlations with both IOTN-AC and POS scores. The α ranged between 0.79 and 0.90, and the ICC ranged between 0.93-0.97. Conclusion The Italian adolescent PIDAQ showed good reliability and validity. The psychometric properties of this version of the questionnaire support its use for the assessment of the psychosocial impact of dental aesthetics among Italian adolescents.