Determining validity and reliability of the Persian version of activities-specific balance confidence scale for elderly

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the phenomenon of aging and the inevitable problems that will occur in the process, a convenient tool for assessing the balance confidence of the daily activities is required. Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the activities-specific balance confidence scale for elderly Persians. Materials and Methods: In this study 170 women and men (woman: 75 and man: 95) were selected by cluster random sampling to complete the Persian version of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale for the elderly. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency while intra-class correlation coefficient under test-retest method was utilized to assess temporal reliability. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis based on structural equations was used for validation of the structure of the questionnaire. The results showed that the activities-specific balance confidence scale for elderly Persians had an acceptable fit index (RMSEA = 0.08, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99), internal consistency (0.92) and temporal reliability (0.83), indicating good validity and reliability of the Persian version of the activities-specific balance confidence scale for elderly Persians. Conclusion: Balance confidence scale for elderly Persians has acceptable validity and reliability among Iranian adults and can be potentially used as a valid and reliable instrument by researchers