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Activities Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC-Scale)
Activities Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC-Scale)
| Availability |
Please email the author, Anita M. Myers, for information about obtaining the instrument: amyers@uwaterloo.ca
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| Classification |
NeuroRehab Supplemental - Highly Recommended
Recommendations for Use: Indicated for studies requiring a measure of balance.
Supplemental: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Sport-Related Concussion (SRC)
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| Short Description of Instrument |
Construct measured: The Activities Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC-Scale) measures an aspect of the psychological impact of balance impairment and/or falls.
Generic vs. disease specific: Generic
Means of administration: Self-administered or administered in person or via telephone interview.
Intended respondent: Participant
# of items: 16
# of subscales and names of sub-scales: N/A
# of items per sub-scale: N/A
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| Comments/Special Instructions |
Background: The ABC-Scale is a questionnaire developed to measure an aspect of the psychological impact of balance impairment and/or falls. Greater situation-specificity of items may also assist clinicians in targeting appropriate interventions.
NeuroRehab Specific: Not needed for conditions with only upper limb involvement.
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| Scoring |
Scoring: The ABC-Scale is an 11-point scale and ratings consist of whole numbers (0 – 100) for each item. The total ABC-Scale score is the total the ratings (possible range = 0 – 1600) divided by 16. If a subject qualifies his/her response to items #2, #9, #11, #14 or #15 (different ratings for "up" vs. "down" or "onto" vs. "off"), solicit separate ratings and use the lowest confidence of the two (as this will limit the entire activity, for instance the likelihood of using the stairs.)
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| Scoring and Psychometric Properties |
Scoring: The ABC-Scale is an 11-point scale and ratings consist of whole numbers (0 - 100) for each item. The total ABC-Scale score is the total the ratings (possible range = 0 - 1600) divided by 16. If a participant qualifies his/her response to items #2, #9, #11, #14 or #15 (different ratings for "up" vs. "down" or "onto" vs. "off"), solicit separate ratings and use the lowest confidence of the two (as this will limit the entire activity, for instance the likelihood of using the stairs.)
Administration: The ABC-Scale can be self-administered or administered via personal or telephone interview. Larger typeset should be used for self-administration, while an enlarged version of the rating scale on an index card will facilitate in-person interviews. Regardless of administration method, each respondent should be queried concerning their understanding of instructions and probed regarding difficulty in answering specific items.
Psychometric Properties: The ABC-Scale was found to be internally consistent and demonstrated good test-retest reliability, convergent and criterion validity.
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| Rationale/Justification |
Strengths/Weaknesses: The high item responsiveness of the ABC-Scale makes it suitable to detect loss of balancing confidence in more highly functioning seniors.
NeuroRehab Specific: Self-efficacy for balance may be an important construct of balance not measured with other instruments in the same general domain. The ABC-Scale is a self-report measure, quick and easy to administer, is widely used, has reasonable psychometric properties, and spans populations.
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| References |
Powell LE, Myers AM. The Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1995;50A(1):M28-34.
Hill K. Activities-specific and Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale. Aust J Physiother. 2005;51(3):197.
Document last updated January 2022
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