MEASUREMENT LIBRARY
Measure List
A structured catalogue of measurement instruments relevant to falls efficacy and related fall-related psychological constructs. Measures are organised according to the construct and fall-related situation they primarily assess.
Similar terminology does not necessarily indicate conceptual equivalence. Instrument selection should begin with a clear definition of the construct and the purpose of measurement.
START WITH THE CONSTRUCT
Measure What You Intend to Understand
Falls efficacy, balance confidence, balance recovery confidence, safe-landing confidence, post-fall recovery confidence, fear of falling, concern about falling and perceived control represent related but distinguishable constructs.
Appropriate interpretation therefore depends on matching the instrument to the intended construct, population, setting and measurement purpose.
FALLS-EFFICACY DOMAINS
Browse by Fall-related Situation
Falls efficacy can be considered across different stages of a fall-related situation. These domains provide one organising structure for reviewing measures of perceived capability.
PRE-FALL
Balance confidence
Confidence in maintaining balance during activities.
NEAR-FALL
Balance recovery confidence
Confidence to arrest a fall following a loss of balance, slip or trip.
FALL-LANDING
Safe-landing confidence
Confidence in protecting oneself during a fall.
COMPLETED FALL
Post-fall recovery confidence
Confidence to get up or obtain help after a fall.
MULTIDIMENSIONAL
Falls Efficacy Across Prevention and Management
These instruments include perceived capability across more than one fall-related situation rather than focusing exclusively on balance maintenance or a single stage of a fall.
FEATURED MEASURE
Multidimensional Falls Efficacy Scale (MdFES)
A four-item scale designed to represent confidence across balance maintenance, balance recovery, safe landing and post-fall recovery.
View multidimensional measures
| Measure | Developer | Items | Scoring | Primary conceptual focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multidimensional Falls Efficacy Scale | Soh et al., 2025 | 4 | 0–4; higher scores indicate greater confidence to prevent and manage falls. | Balance confidence, balance recovery confidence, safe-landing confidence and post-fall recovery confidence. |
| Perceived Ability to Manage Risks of Falls or Actual Falls (PAMF) | Tennstedt et al., 1998 | 5 | 1–4; higher scores indicate greater perceived ability to manage. | Perceived ability to manage fall risks or actual falls. |
| Perceived Ability to Prevent and Manage Fall Risks (PAPMFR) | Yoshikawa & Smith | 6 | 1–5 response scale. | Broad fall-related perceptions involving posture, walking, fall prevention and fall management. |
PRE-FALL DOMAIN
Balance Confidence
Measures in this section primarily address perceived capability or confidence in maintaining balance or undertaking activities without losing balance or falling.
View balance-confidence measures
| Measure | Developer | Items | Scoring | Conceptualisation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) | Tinetti et al., 1990 | 10 | 10-point continuum; 1 = very confident, 10 = not confident at all. | Activities considered important for independent living among older adults. |
| Modified Falls Efficacy Scale | Edwards & Lockett, 2008 | 11 | 1–3 confidence scale. | Modification of the original FES. |
| Modified Falls Efficacy Scale | Tennstedt et al., 1998 | 12 | 1–4; higher scores indicate greater confidence. | Original FES items modified for an intervention study with two additional items. |
| Modified Falls Efficacy Scale | Hellström & Lindmark, 1999 | 13 | 0–10 visual analogue response. | Modified from the original FES. |
| Modified Falls Efficacy Scale | Hill et al., 1996 | 14 | 0–10 visual analogue response. | Modified from the FES with additional items. |
| Perceived Ability to Prevent and Manage Fall Risks | Yoshikawa & Smith, 2019 | 6 | 1–5 response scale. | Broad fall-related perceptions including prevention and management. |
| Gait Efficacy Scale | Rosengren et al., 1998 | 8 | 1–10; higher values indicate greater confidence. | Confidence in gait-related situations. |
| Modified Gait Efficacy Scale | McAuley et al., 1997 | 10 | 1–10 confidence scale. | Self-efficacy relating to gait and balance. |
| Perceived Control over Falling | Tennstedt et al., 1998 | 4 | 1–4; higher scores indicate greater control. | Perceived control over falling. |
| Perceived Ability to Manage Risk of Falls or Actual Falls | Tennstedt et al., 1998 | 5 | 1–4; higher scores indicate greater perceived ability. | Ability to manage fall risks or actual falls. |
| Balance Self-perceptions Test | Shumway-Cook et al., 1997 | 20 | 1–5 confidence scale. | Self-perceptions relating to balance. |
| Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC) | Powell & Myers, 1995 | 16 | 0–100% confidence continuum. | Confidence in maintaining balance during activities. |
| Modified Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale | Filiatrault et al., 2007 | 15 | 0–3 confidence scale. | Modified ABC response format. |
| Short Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale | Peretz et al., 2006 | 6 | 0–100% confidence continuum. | Short form derived from the ABC scale. |
| CONFBal Scale of Balance Confidence | Simpson et al., 2009 | 10 | 3-point confidence scale. | Confidence in everyday activities. |
NEAR-FALL DOMAIN
Balance Recovery Confidence
Balance recovery confidence concerns perceived capability to recover stability following destabilising events such as slips, trips or other losses of balance.
ORIGINAL SCALE
Balance Recovery Confidence Scale
Developer: Soh et al., 2022
Items: 19
Scoring: 0–10, from “cannot do” to
“certain can do”.
SHORT FORM
Short-Form Balance Recovery Confidence Scale
Developer: Soh et al., 2026
Items: 7
Scoring: 0–10 confidence response.
FALL-LANDING DOMAIN
Safe-landing Confidence
This domain concerns perceived capability to protect oneself and manage the landing phase of a fall.
RELATED MEASURE
Perceived Ability to Manage Risks of Falls or Actual Falls (PAMF)
Developer: Tennstedt et al., 1998
Items: 5
Scoring: 1–4; higher scores indicate a
greater perceived ability to manage.
This instrument includes broader fall-management content and should not automatically be interpreted as a dedicated measure of safe-landing confidence.
COMPLETED FALL DOMAIN
Post-fall Recovery Confidence
This domain addresses perceived capability to manage the immediate situation after a fall, including getting up or obtaining assistance.
View completed-fall measures
| Measure | Developer | Items | Scoring | Primary focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perceived Ability to Manage Risks of Falls or Actual Falls | Tennstedt et al., 1998 | 5 | 1–4 | Perceived ability to manage falls. |
| Perceived Ability to Prevent and Manage Fall Risks | Yoshikawa & Smith, 2019 | 6 | 1–5 | Broad perceptions relating to fall prevention and management. |
| Difficulty Scale of Rising from the Floor | Hofmeyer et al., 2002 | 7 | 1 = no difficulty to 4 = unable to rise. | Difficulty in floor-rise tasks rather than confidence itself. |
RELATED PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTS
Fear and Concern About Falling
Fear and concern about falling are related to falls efficacy but should not be interpreted as measures of perceived capability merely because an instrument has historically used “falls efficacy” terminology.
View fear, concern and avoidance measures
| Measure | Developer | Items | Primary focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Question on FOF and Activity Restriction | Belloni et al., 2020 | 2 | Fear of falling and activity restriction. |
| Appraisal of Harm Outcomes Questionnaire | Noimontree & Lach, 2017 | 6 | Fear and appraisal of harm. |
| Geriatric Anxiety Scale | Segal et al., 2010 | 30 | Broader anxiety symptoms in older adults. |
| Falls Efficacy Scale-International Activities Avoidance Behaviour | Dorresteijn et al., 2011 | 16 | Avoidance behaviour in relation to concern about falling. |
| Geriatric Fear of Falling Questionnaire | Sangpring et al., 2012 | 34 | Multidimensional fear of falling. |
| Short FES-I Activities Avoidance Behaviour | Kruisbrink et al., 2021 | 7 | Activity avoidance. |
| Falls Behavioural Scale | Clemson et al., 2008 | 29 | Safety strategies and risky behaviours. |
| Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in the Elderly | Lachman et al., 1998 | 22 | Fear and activity-related consequences. |
| Modified SAFFE | Yardley & Smith, 2002 | 17 | Activity avoidance. |
| Consequences of Falling Scale | Yardley & Smith, 2002 | 16 | Worries about consequences of falling. |
| UIC Fear of Falling Measure | Velozo & Peterson, 2001 | 16 | Worry about falling. |
| Geriatric Fear of Falling Measure | Huang, 2006 | 15 | Fear of falling. |
| Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International | Kempen et al., 2008 | 7 | Concern about falling. |
| Falls Efficacy Scale-International | Yardley et al., 2005 | 16 | Concern about falling. |
| Short Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale | Delbaere et al., 2011 | 10 | Concern about falling. |
| Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale | Delbaere et al., 2011 | 30 | Concern about falling using pictorial items. |
| Fear of Falling Avoidance Behaviour Questionnaire | Landers et al., 2011 | 14 | Fear-related avoidance. |
| Fear of Falling Questionnaire | Dayhoff et al., 1994 | 21 | Fear and appraisal of fall-related harm. |
| Fear of Falling Questionnaire-Revised | Bower et al., 2015 | 6 | Fear of falling. |
| Mobility Efficacy Scale | Lusardi & Smith, 1997 | 10 | Concern during activities challenging postural control. |
| Questionnaire on Activity Restriction | Vellas et al. | 15 | Activity restriction and psychological state. |
| Fear of Falling Questionnaire | Howland et al., 1993 | 3 | Fear of falling and activity curtailment. |
| Single-item fear/concern questions | Multiple authors | 1 | Fear, concern or worry depending on wording. |
RELATED CONSTRUCT
Fall-risk Perception
Fall-risk perception concerns how individuals understand or appraise their likelihood, awareness or sources of fall risk, rather than their confidence in managing a fall-related situation.
Self-awareness of Falls Measure (SAFRM)
Developer: Mihaljcic et al., 2014
Items: 35
Self-awareness of Falls in Elderly (SAFE)
Developer: Shyu et al., 2018
Items: 21
Falls Risk Perception Questionnaire (FRPQ)
Developer: Choi et al., 2021
Items: 27
RELATED CONSTRUCT
Perceived Control Over Falling
Perceived control concerns an individual’s perceived ability to influence situations that threaten balance and to regulate their response to fall-related threats.
Perceived Control over Falling
Developer: Tennstedt et al., 1998
Items: 4
Scoring: 1–4; higher scores indicate a
greater sense of control.
Updated Perceived Control over Falling Scale (UP-COF)
Developer: Ellmers et al., 2023
Items: 4
Scoring: 0–5.
INTERPRETATION
How to Use the Measure List
This catalogue is intended to support construct-informed instrument selection. Inclusion does not imply that all measures are psychometrically equivalent or suitable for every population or purpose.
Define the construct
Specify whether the interest is capability, confidence, fear, concern, control, risk perception or avoidance.
Identify the context
Consider population, setting, language and the relevant fall-related situation.
Review measurement evidence
Examine reliability, validity, responsiveness and interpretability for the intended use.
Consider feasibility
Review administration time, scoring, licensing, translations and practical burden.
Need Help Choosing a Measure?
Begin with the construct you want to understand, then identify the instrument that best represents your clinical or research question.