Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale
Original Editor - Rucha Gadgil
Top Contributors - Rucha Gadgil, Lauren Lopez, Kim Jackson and Lucinda hampton
Objective[edit | edit source]
Activities-specific balance confidence (ABC) scale is a structured questionnaire that measures an individual’s confidence during ambulatory activities without falling or experiencing a sense of unsteadiness. It was developed in 1995 by Powell and Myers, and consists of 16 questions gauging the individual's confidence while doing activities[1].
Intended Population[edit | edit source]
The ABC scale is reported to be an accurate measure to identify individuals with a fall risk in populations of stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, vestibular disorders, in elderly, and in other neurological conditions that can affect balance.
Method of Use[edit | edit source]
- Its a 16-item questionnaire where patients' rate their confidence while doing activities.
- Scoring from 0-100 (0 is no confidence and 100 is full confidence)
- Paper survey, 5-10 mins for administration.
- No Training required.
- Permission needs to be obtained before use from the authors.
Questionnaire[edit | edit source]
The ABC Scale has 16 questions that require the patient to rate his/her confidence that he/she will not lose balance or become unsteady while performing the following activities:
- Walking around the house
- Walking up or down stairs
- Bending over to pick up a slipper from the front of a closet floor
- Reaching for a small can off a shelf at eye level
- Standing on tiptoes and reaching for something above his/her head
- Standing on a chair to reach for something
- Sweeping the floor
- Walking outside the house to a car parked in the driveway
- Getting into or out of a car
- Walking across a parking lot to the mall
- Walking up or down a ramp
- Walking in a crowded mall where people rapidly walk past
- Being bumped into people as they walk through the mall
- Stepping on to or off an escalator while holding onto a railing
- Stepping onto or off an escalator while holding onto parcels (so that they are not able to hold the railing)
- Walking outside on icy sidewalks
Myers et al. (1998) use the following cut-off scores to define level of functioning among active older adults[2]:
- Lower than 50 %: low level of physical functioning
- 50-80 %: moderate level of physical functioning
- Above 80 %: high level of physical functioning
Versions[edit | edit source]
Apart from the 16-item questionnaire, there are two other versions of the scale:
The scale has also be translated to multiple languages like chines, german etc.
Psychometric Properties[edit | edit source]
Reliability[edit | edit source]
- Internal Consistency: high Internal consistency (a = 0.96) in geriatric population, high Internal consistency (a=0.94) in Stroke[3]
- Test-Retest reliability: excellent overall test-retest reliability (r=0.92, p<0.001) in elderly, excellent test-retest reliability of the overall score (ICC = 0.85; 95% CI 0.68-0.93), and adequate to excellent item level test-retest reliability (ICC ranged from 0.53 – 0.93) in stroke[3].
Validity[edit | edit source]
- Criterion validity and construct validity: adequate in stroke patients[4].
Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]
Find the pdf of the scale here.
Other information: here.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Moiz JA, Bansal V, Noohu MM, Gaur SN, Hussain ME, Anwer S, Alghadir A. Activities-specific balance confidence scale for predicting future falls in Indian older adults. Clin Interv Aging. 2017 Apr 10;12:645-651. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S133523. PMID: 28435236; PMCID: PMC5391867.
- ↑ Myers AM, Fletcher PC, Myers AH, Sherk W. Discriminative and evaluative properties of the activities-specific balance confidence (ABC) scale. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1998 Jul;53(4):M287-94. doi: 10.1093/gerona/53a.4.m287. PMID: 18314568.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Botner, E.M., Miller, W.C., & Eng, J. J. Measurement properties of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale among individuals with stroke. Disability and Rehabilitation,2009; 27(4), 156-63.
- ↑ Filiatrault, J., Gauvin, L., Fournier, M., Parisien, M., Robitaille, Y., Laforest, S., Corriveau, H., & Richard, L. Evidence of the psychometric qualities of a simplified version of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale for community-dwelling seniors. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2007; 88, 664-72.