Psychometric Evaluation of the Original and Canadian French Version of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale Among People With Stroke

Salbach NM, Mayo NE, Hanley JA, Richards CL, Wood-Dauphinee S. Psychometric evaluation of the original and Canadian French version of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence scale among people with stroke.ObjectiveTo evaluate the internal and absolute reliability and construct validity of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale and a new Canadian French version (ABC-CF) of it among people with stroke.DesignCross-sectional data from a randomized controlled trial.SettingCommunity.ParticipantsNinety-one people with a residual walking deficit between 57 and 386 days poststroke.InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresThe ABC and ABC-CF scales, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), comfortable and maximum gait speeds, Timed Up & Go (TUG) test, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), Barthel Index, physical function scale of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the EQ-5D visual analog scale (EQ VAS).ResultsInternal consistency (Cronbach α) was .94 and .93 and the standard error of measurement was 5.05 and 5.13 for the ABC (n=51) and the ABC-CF (n=35) scales, respectively. Spearman ρ values ranged from .30 to .60 for the ABC scale and from .45 to .68 on the ABC-CF scale for associations with scores on the BBS, comfortable and maximum gait speeds, TUG, 6MWT, Barthel Index, physical function scale, GDS, and EQ VAS.ConclusionsEvidence of internal and absolute reliability and of construct validity of the ABC and the ABC-CF scales supports their use for cross-sectional measurements of balance self-efficacy among community-dwelling people in the first year poststroke.