Measuring balance confidence after spinal cord injury: the reliability and validity of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale

This study investigates the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale's reliability and validity for individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). The ABC scale is used to measure a person's confidence in maintaining balance while performing daily activities. The study compares ABC scale scores of individuals with iSCI to those of able-bodied individuals to assess the scale's ability to distinguish between the two groups. Researchers also looked at how ABC scale scores correlated with other measures of balance, walking, strength, and sensation. The findings suggest the ABC scale is a reliable and valid tool for measuring balance confidence in people with iSCI. This means it can be used to accurately and consistently assess how confident individuals with iSCI are in their ability to maintain balance during everyday tasks.

• 1
  The ABC scale demonstrated high test-retest reliability among participants with iSCI, indicating that individuals with iSCI reported very similar scores on two administrations of the ABC scale.
• 2
  ABC scale scores correlated with performance on clinical measures of balance, gait, and lower extremity strength, supporting the convergent validity of the scale.
• 3
  Participants with iSCI scored significantly lower on the ABC scale than able-bodied participants, demonstrating discriminative validity, meaning that the ABC scale can differentiate between individuals with and without iSCI.