Convergent validity of the multidimensional falls efficacy scale, activities-specific balance confidence, balance recovery confidence scale and the falls efficacy scale-international

Abstract

Objective: Falls efficacy is a critical psychological construct in falls prevention and management. Various measurement instruments designed to measure falls efficacy, balance confidence, and fear of falling have often been used interchangeably. This study evaluates the convergent validity of the newly developed Multidimensional Falls Efficacy Scale (MDFES) in Singapore community-dwelling older adults against other falls efficacy-related patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).

Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study design. One hundred and nineteen community-dwelling older adults aged 65 and older completed four PROMs, including the MDFES, the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), the Balance Recovery Confidence Scale (BRC), and the Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). Convergent validity was evaluated using Spearman’s correlation coefficients and a priori hypotheses to assess the relationships between the multi-FES and other PROMs.

Results: The multi-FES showed moderate positive correlations with the ABC (r = 0.51) and the BRC (r = 0.67). The multi-FES had a moderate negative correlation with the FES-I (r =-0.46). The strength and direction of the correlations were consistent with the priori hypotheses.

Conclusion: Falls efficacy is closely related to balance confidence and fear of falling, but they are unique constructs. The MdFES demonstrates moderate convergent validity against balance confidence and fear of falling PROMs. It incorporates other self-efficacy domains to provide a more comprehensive assessment of falls efficacy. Further validation studies are recommended to support its clinical applicability and explore its relationship with additional performance metrics.