Development and content validity of the behavioral assessment screening tool (BAST_β)

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Psychology

Background:

• Behavioral and emotional symptoms are significant challenges following traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• Effective long-term monitoring of these sequelae is crucial for improving patient outcomes and community integration.
• Existing assessment tools may not adequately capture the multidimensional nature of behavioral dysregulation post-TBI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and establish the content validity of the Behavioral Assessment Screening Tool (BASTβ).
• BASTβ is a self-reported measure designed to assess behavioral and emotional symptoms after TBI.

Main Methods:

• An assessment development study involving focus groups with individuals with TBI (n=11) and their family members (n=10).
• Expert panel evaluation of content validity by TBI rehabilitation specialists (n=7).
• Assessment of the Content Validity Index (CVI) for the BASTβ.

Main Results:

• The final BASTβ includes 66 items (60 primary, 6 branching logic) rated on a three-level scale (Never, Sometimes, Always) over the past two weeks.
• An Environmental Context checklist with 23 items and four open-ended questions was included.
• The BASTβ achieved a high Content Validity Index of 89.3%.

Conclusions:

• The BASTβ is a theoretically grounded, multidimensional self-reported assessment with good content validity for behavioral dysregulation post-TBI.
• Future development could involve mobile health modalities for enhanced effectiveness and efficiency in long-term monitoring.
• Further research will focus on validating the factor structure, internal consistency, and other psychometric properties of the BAST.