The Arabic version of the ABILOCO-Kids scale is valid and reliable in children with cerebral palsy.

Background: The ABILOCO-Kids is a parent-reported outcome measure that quantifies locomotion ability and has been reported to have satisfactory measurement properties. An Arabic version of the scale is needed for Arabic-speaking population.Objective: To cross-culturally adapt the ABILOCO-Kids into Arabic and to examine its measurement properties in children with cerebral palsy.Methods: Forward and backward translations, then expert committee followed by preliminary testing were conducted to produce the Arabic ABILOCO-Kids. Structural validity of the scale as a unidimensional measure was examined using Rasch analysis. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity of the adapted scale were examined in children with cerebral palsy (N = 154).Results: Rasch analysis supported the structural validity of the Arabic ABILOCO-Kids after combining two items (χ2 = 18.17, p = .44). The scale had excellent internal consistency (person separation index = 0.88), excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.98) but had a floor effect (24% reaching the minimum score). Eighty percent of the predefined hypotheses regarding the correlation between the Arabic ABILOCO-Kids and the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) (r = -0.65) and the Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM) subscales (r = 0.34 to 0.70) were supported by the results.Conclusion: The Arabic ABILOCO-Kids is a unidimensional interval-level measure of walking ability in children with cerebral palsy with evidence supporting its structural validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity.

Price and volatility spillovers between global equity, gold, and energy markets prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study sets out to provide fresh evidence on the dynamic interrelationships, at both return and volatility levels, between global equity, gold, and energy markets prior to and during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. We undertake our analysis within a bivariate GARCH(p, q) framework, after orthogonalizing raw returns with respect to a rich set of relevant universal factors. Under the COVID-19 regime, we find bidirectional return spillover effects between equity and gold markets, and unidirectional mean spillovers from energy markets to the equity and gold counterparts. The results also suggest the presence of large reciprocal shock spillovers between equity and both of energy and gold markets, and cross-shock spillovers from energy to gold markets. Most probably driven by the recent oil price collapse, energy markets appear to have a substantial cross-volatility spillover impact on the others. Our results offer implications for policymakers and investors.

Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties of the Arabic version of the ABILHAND-Kids scale.

Purpose: To cross-culturally adapt the ABILHAND-Kids into Arabic and to examine its measurement properties in children with cerebral palsy.Materials and methods: The Cross-cultural adaption of the ABILHAND-Kids into Arabic language included forward translation, backward translation, expert committee followed by preliminary testing. Structural validity using Rasch analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, measurement error, and construct validity of the Arabic ABILHAND-Kids were examined in children with cerebral palsy (N = 154; 54% male, mean age 7.4 years).Results: Rasch analysis did not support the structural validity of the Arabic ABILHAND-Kids mainly due to response dependency. Removal of two items addressed the issue of the response dependency and resulted in a unidimensional scale meeting the requirement of the Rasch model. The scale had excellent internal consistency (Person Separation Index = 0.93) and excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.98). The results supported 86% of the predefined hypotheses regarding correlation of the Arabic ABILHAND-Kids with the manual ability classification system, gross motor function classification system and the functional independence measure for children.Conclusion: The Arabic ABILHAND-Kids demonstrated adequate evidence supporting its structural validity as a unidimensional measure along with evidence supporting its internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity as a measure of manual ability in children with cerebral palsy.Implications for rehabilitationThe Arabic ABILHAND-Kids is a reliable and valid measure of manual ability in children with cerebral palsy.The Arabic ABILHAND-Kids can be used to quantify manual ability in children with cerebral palsy in clinical practice and for research purposes.