Assessing adaptive behaviour in the post-acute setting following traumatic brain injury: Initial reliability and validity of the Adaptive Behaviour and Community Competency Scale (ABCCS)

Abstract

Primary objective: Present the rationale for adaptive behavior rating and introduce the Adaptive Behaviour and Community Competency Scale (ABCCS), a comprehensive and detailed measure of adaptive behaviour, for use with persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the post-acute period.Methods and procedures: Direct-care staff with limited exposure to the ABCCS, completed it twice, two weeks apart, about persons with TBI who were resident in diverse community settings. Other measures to assess validity were administered concurrently.Results: Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) for interrater and test–retest reliability of the ABCCS were excellent (ICC = 0.9681 and 0.9860 respectively). Evidence for convergent and divergent validity with comparison measures was strong with highly significant correlations with scales measuring similar content (Rho = 0.613–0.919) and weak correlations for scales measuring dissimilar content (Rho = 0.318–0.397).Conclusions: The ABCCS is a reliable and a valid indicator of functioning post-acute TBI and is straightforward enough to be used by direct-care staff.