VALIDITY OF THE TEMPA - A MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT FOR UPPER EXTREMITY PERFORMANCE

Motivated by the important role played by the upper extremities in dai ly activities and the limitations of existing tests for measurement of upper extremity performance for the elderly, an evaluation instrument , the TEMPA, was developed. Reliability studies having been previously reported, this study investigates two types of validity for the TEMPA . Concurrent validity was tested by examining the instrument's agreeme nt with two tests measuring similar concepts: the Action Research Armt est (ARA) and the Box and Block Test (B&BT). The TEMPA's construct val idity was simultaneously explored by testing two hypotheses relating t he concept of upper limb performance to that of functional independenc e. One hundred four men and women, aged between 60 and 94 years old, w ith various living arrangements and presenting different types of uppe r limb impairment, participated in the study. The TEMPA correlated sig nificantly with the ARA and the B&BT. Correlation with independence wa s significantly higher with the TEMPA than with the ARA.