title: Psychometric evaluation of the Posture and Postural Ability Scale for children with cerebral palsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate construct validity, internal consistency and inter-rater reliability of the Posture and Postural Ability Scale for children with cerebral palsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Evaluation of psychometric properties.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five child rehabilitation centres in the south of Sweden, in November 2013 to March 2014.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 29 children with cerebral palsy (15 boys, 14 girls), 6-16 years old, classified at Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels II (n = 10), III (n = 7), IV (n = 6) and V (n = 6).
  
  
  METHODS
  Three independent raters (two physiotherapists and one orthopaedic surgeon) assessed posture and postural ability of all children in supine, prone, sitting and standing positions, according to the Posture and Postural Ability Scale. Construct validity was evaluated based on averaged values for the raters relative to known-groups in terms of GMFCS levels. Internal consistency was analysed with Cronbach's alpha and corrected Item-Total correlation. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using weighted kappa scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Posture and Postural Ability Scale showed construct validity and median values differed between GMFCS levels (p < 0.01). There was a good internal consistency (alpha = 0.95-0.96; item-total correlation = 0.55-0.91), and an excellent inter-rater reliability (kappa score = 0.77-0.99).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Posture and Postural Ability Scale shows high psychometric properties for children with cerebral palsy, as previously seen when evaluated for adults. It enables detection of postural deficits and asymmetries indicating potential need for support and where it needs to be applied.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Research, Uppsala University, County Hospital, Västerås, Sweden Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden elisabet.rodby_bousquet@med.lu.se.
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodby-Bousquet
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Måns
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Persson-Bunke
authors.affiliation: National Musculoskeletal Competence Centre for Quality Registers, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Czuba
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013548:Sweden
keywords: Posture and Postural Ability Scale; cerebral palsy; postural control; posture; psychometric evaluation; reliability; validity