Development of the Key Behaviors Change Inventory: a traumatic brain injury behavioral outcome assessment instrument
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Brent P Kolitz1, Rodney D Vanderploeg, Glenn Curtiss
1Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. brent@russellandkolitz.com
Objective:
To describe the development and initial validation of a neurobehavioral outcome measure, the Key Behaviors Change Inventory (KBCI), for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Design:
Scale construction and development, and validity study.
Setting:
Large state university and postal survey.
Participants:
Seventy-five volunteer undergraduate students and 25 volunteer collateral informants of individuals with TBI participated in the item-analysis phase. Thirty members of the Brain Injury Association and 20 members of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society rated both an identified patient and an age- and gender-equated control in the validation phase.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
Content validity was examined through expert panel item sorts. Scale internal consistencies were examined with the Cronbach alpha. Construct validity was examined by comparing scale elevations between controls and 2 neurologic groups.
Results:
Item-analysis procedures resulted in 8 scales of 8 items each: inattention, impulsivity, unawareness of problems, apathy, interpersonal difficulties, communication problems, somatic difficulties, and emotional adjustment. Internal consistency reliability coefficients ranged from.82 to.91. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant (P
Conclusion:
The KBCI was both sensitive and specific to typical behavioral changes after TBI, thus supporting its usefulness in rehabilitation settings. Cross-validation and development of a normative database are future steps necessary in its development.
