The adaptive behavior scale-residential and community (part I): towards the development of a short form.
A 24-item short form of the ABS-RC2 gives you the same reliable adaptive-behavior data in one-third the time.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers trimmed the 73-item Adaptive Behavior Scale-Residential and Community (Part I) down to 24 questions.
They gave both the long and short forms to the adults with intellectual disability living in group homes.
Stats checked if the brief form still measured daily-living skills the same way.
What they found
The 24-item SABS almost perfectly matched the full scale (r = 0.98).
Internal consistency stayed high at 0.93, so the short form is reliable.
You get the same score in two-thirds less time—about 10 minutes instead of 30.
How this fits with other research
Nikolov et al. (2009) did the same trick with the 15-item QABF-SF and also kept the original five-factor structure.
Lin et al. (2023) used machine learning to shrink the 100-item C-TRF to 36 items and still hit R² = 0.96.
Balboni et al. (2022) took the idea further, creating an Italian brief adaptive scale for youth that saves time versus Vineland-II.
Why it matters
If your intake packet feels like a marathon, swap in the SABS. You keep solid data on self-care, money, safety, and chores without tiring out staff or caregivers. Faster forms mean more frequent progress checks and quicker treatment tweaks.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A potential 24-item short form (SABS) of the 73-item Adaptive Behavior Scale-Residential and Community (Part I) (ABS-RC2; Nihira et al., 1993a, b) was developed, based on data from two diverse UK samples of adults with intellectual disabilities living in residential services (n = 560 and 254). SABS factor and total scores showed good internal reliability in both samples (alpha 0.89-0.98), and were highly correlated with their full ABS-RC2 Part I equivalents (r = 0.97-0.99). Regression equations were calculated for SABS factor and total scores against their full ABS-RC2 Part I equivalents. Levels of agreement between predicted quartile scores (derived from the regression equations) and actual full ABS-RC2 Part I quartile scores were high (kappa 0.75-0.89; percentage agreement 82%-92%). It is concluded that the SABS is a potentially useful research tool, although further work is clearly needed to establish the reliability and cross-cultural validity of the instrument.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2001 · doi:10.1016/s0891-4222(01)00072-5