Psychometric evaluation of the original and Canadian French version of the activities-specific balance confidence scale among people with stroke

OBJECTIVE: To 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.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional data from a randomized controlled trial.

SETTING: Community.

PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-one people with a residual walking deficit between 57 and 386 days poststroke.

INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 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).

RESULTS: Internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) 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 rho 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.

CONCLUSIONS: Evidence 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.