Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Falls Behavioral Scale in Seniors

The identification of the causes of risky behaviors is necessary to prevent the occurrence of injuries and reduce its costs. The present study aimed to translate and evaluate the validity and reliability of the Falls Behavioral (FaB) Scale in Iranian seniors.

This methodological study was conducted on 300 seniors aged 60 years and older referring to retirement centers. After permission, the recommended forward-backward procedure was adopted to translate the original English version of the questionnaire. Thereafter, the content, face validity, and construct validity of the scale were determined and taken into consideration. In addition, the known-groups comparison (seniors with and without a history of falls), as well as convergent and divergent validity, was used to evaluate construct validity. Finally, internal consistency and the test-retest analysis were performed to assess the reliability of the FaB scale.

The results of the known-groups comparison demonstrated that the mean score of the FaB scale was higher in the seniors with a history of falls as compared to that in their counterparts without such an experience. The obtained scores on FaB scale, Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale (r=-0.214, P<0.01), and Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) (r=0.256, P<0.01) represented a significant correlation, confirming the construct validity of the scale. The Cronbach’s alpha of the total scale and test-retest reliability within one week were obtained as 0.71 and 0.91, respectively.

As evidenced by the results of this study, the Persian version of the FaB scale is a valid and reliable instrument; therefore, it can be used to assess the behavioral fall risk factors, as well as fall prevention interventions in older people. It is suggested that in future studies, researchers focus on the assessment of more psychometric properties of this scale, especially sensitivity and specificity.