• George Giannakopoulos, Christine Dimitrakaki, Xanthi Pedeli, Gerasimos Kolaitis, Vasiliki Rotsika, Ulricke Ravens-Sieberer, and Yannis Tountas.
• Centre for Health Services Research, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Athens Medical School, 25 Alexandroupoleos Street, 11527 Athens, Greece.
• Health Qual Life Out. 2009 Dec 15; 7: 100.

BackgroundThis study aimed at examining the relationship between parental subjective health status and adolescents' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as well as the role of gender, socioeconomic status, presence of chronic health care needs and social support on the above interaction.MethodsQuestionnaires were administered to a Greek nation-wide random sample of adolescents (N = 1,194) aged 11-18 years and their parents (N = 973) in 2003. Adolescents' and parents' status was assessed, together with reports of socio-economic status and level of social support. Various statistical tests were used to determine the extent to which these variables were related to each other.Results And DiscussionParental subjective mental health status was significantly correlated with adolescents' better physical and psychological wellbeing, moods and emotions, parent-child relationships, school environment and financial resources. Parental subjective physical health status was strongly associated with more positive adolescents' self-perception. Adolescents' male gender, younger age, absence of chronic health care needs, high social support, and higher family income were positively associated with better HRQoL.ConclusionsThis study reinforces the importance of parental subjective health status, along with other variables, as a significant factor for the adolescents' HRQoL.

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