background Quality youth care and decisions about youth care should ideally be based on a combination of empirical data, the clinical judgment of health professionals and the views and preferences of clients. Additionally, the treatment provided needs to fit in with the client’s social and cultural background. Clients’ views about their treatment are often collected via satisfaction measurements and particularly via satisfaction questionnaires.
aim To make a critical analysis of the factors that determine both client satisfaction and the content of the satisfaction questionnaires used as a measurement method in youth care.
method We made a selective study of the relevant literature.
results Our results show that client satisfaction is not an indicator of the effectiveness of treatment and that the degree of client satisfaction varies according to the client’s outlook and perspective. Apparently, there are many disadvantages of using questionnaires as a measurement method.
conclusion For the collection of a young person’s views, qualitative methods seem to be more effective than questionnaires.