Psychological factors associated with fall risk have received important attention throughout
the past decade. This fear of falling syndrome has significant implications on an elderly’s
independence level and results in a loss of confidence in performing activities of daily living.
Evidence through the present study has suggested that fallers have a significantly lower
overall ABC score when compared to their non-faller counterparts. As a result, those individuals
with a fall history are more affected by the fear of falling complex and seem to
be those who are more restricted in their everyday activities. Similar results were found
but the differences were not statistically significant (Powell and Myers, 1995). In fact, results
from a study found that fallers obtained an overall score of 53.7, whereas non-fallers
scored 67.4 but the results failed to reach any level of statistical significance (Morris et al.,
1987). In the present study, a score of 85 and 48 were determined for non-fallers and
fallers, respectively, and the latter results were indeed statistically significant. In a further
attempt to quantify fear of falling, a cut-off mark was established in order to allow for
the positive identification of elderly individuals who present a substantial risk of falling.
Results showed that a score of 67% was indeed a reliable means of predicting a future
fall. In fact, this score was highly specific and sensitive with values of 87.5 and 84%,
respectively.