Background

Recent decades have seen increased interest in how anxiety–and associated changes in conscious movement processing (CMP)–can influence the control of balance and gait, particularly in older adults. However, the most prevalent scale used to measure CMP during gait (the Movement-Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS)) is generic (i.e., non-gait-specific) and potentially lacks sensitivity in this context.

Methods

In a preliminary study, we first sought to evaluate if MSRS scores associated with the number of CMP-related thoughts self-reported by older adults while walking. The next aim was to develop and validate a new questionnaire (the Gait-Specific Attentional Profile, G-SAP) capable of measuring gait-specific CMP, in addition to other attentional processes purported to influence gait. This scale was validated using responses from 117 (exploratory) and 107 (confirmatory factor analysis) older adults, resulting in an 11-item scale with four sub-scales: CMP, anxiety, fall-related ruminations, and processing inefficiencies. Finally, in a separate cohort of 53 older adults, we evaluated associations between scores from both the G-SAP CMP subscale and the MSRS, and gait outcomes measured using a GAITRite walkway in addition to participants’ fall-history.

Results

MSRS scores were not associated with self-reported thoughts categorised as representing CMP. In regression analyses that controlled for functional balance, unlike the MSRS, the G-SAP subscale of CMP significantly predicted several gait characteristics including velocity (p = .033), step length (p = .032), and double-limb support (p = .015).

Significance

The G-SAP provides gait-specific measures of four psychological factors implicated in mediating the control of balance and gait. In particular, unlike the MSRS, the G-SAP subscale of CMP appears sensitive to relevant attentional processes known to influence gait performance. We suggest that the G-SAP offers an opportunity for the research community to further develop understanding of psychological factors impacting gait performance across a range of applied clinical contexts.

中文翻译：

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重新评估有意识的运动过程对老年人步态表现的测量和影响：特定于步态的注意力曲线的发展。

背景

最近几十年来，人们越来越关注焦虑以及有意识的运动过程（CMP）的相关变化如何影响平衡和步态的控制，尤其是在老年人中。但是，用于测量步态中CMP的最普遍的量表（特定运动的再投资量表（MSRS））是通用的（即非特定步态），在这种情况下可能缺乏敏感性。

方法

在一项初步研究中，我们首先尝试评估MSRS分数是否与老年人在行走时自我报告的CMP相关思想的数量有关。下一个目标是开发和验证一种新的调查问卷（特定于步态的注意力概况，G-SAP），该问卷能够测量特定于步态的CMP，以及据称影响步态的其他注意过程。该量表使用117位（探索性）和107位（确认性因素分析）成年人的回答进行了验证，结果得出一个11个项目的量表，包括四个子量表：CMP，焦虑，与秋天有关的反刍力和加工效率低下。最后，在一个由53名老年人组成的单独队列中，我们评估了G-SAP CMP分量表和MSRS得分之间的关​​联性，以及除参与者的跌倒经历外，还使用GAITRite步道测量的步态结局。

结果

MSRS分数与归类为CMP的自我报告的思想无关。在控制功能平衡的回归分析中，与MSRS不同，CMP的G-SAP子量表显着预测了几种步态特征，包括速度（p  = .033），步长（p  = .032）和双肢支撑（p  = .015）。

意义

G-SAP提供了针对四种心理因素的特定于步态的测量，这些因素与调解平衡和步态的控制有关。特别是，与MSRS不同，CMP的G-SAP子量表似乎对已知的影响步态表现的注意过程敏感。我们建议，G-SAP为研究界提供了一个机会，可以进一步发展对在各种应用临床环境中影响步态表现的心理因素的理解。