Introduction to the Perceived Control Scale for Brain Injury

Researchers in self-efficacy recommend that measures of self-efficacy be specific to the domain in which personal effectiveness is being assessed.¹ The Perceived Control Scale for Brain injury (PCS-BI) was developed as a specific measure of self-efficacy as an advocate for individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) and as part of a group of ABI advocates. The PCS-BI was based on measures with demonstrated internal consistency and reliability in studies of developmental disability advocacy^2,3 and underwent further psychometric development and validation in a study using a sample of responses from 322 individuals with ABI and their significant others.⁴

1. Bandura A. Regulation of cognitive processes through perceived self-efficacy. Dev Psychol. 1989;25:729-35.

2. Nachsen J, Andersen L, Jamieson J. The Parent Advocacy Scale: Measuring advocacy in parents of children with special needs. J Developmental Disabilities, 2001;8(1):93-105.

3. Schulz AJ, Israel BA, Zimmerman MA, Checkoway BN. Empowerment as a multi-level construct: perceived control at the individual, organizational and community levels. Health Education Research: Theory & Practice, 1995;10(3):309-27.

4. Malec JF, Brown AW, Moessner AM. Two new measures for assessing advocacy activities and perceived control after acquired brain injury. Disability and Rehabilitation, 2010; 32(1):33-40.

Information regarding the PCS-BI was contributed by the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana. Please contact James F. Malec, Ph.D., L.P. at for more information.

If you find the information in the COMBI useful, please mention it when citing sources of information. The information on the Perceived Control Scale for Brain Injury may be cited as:

Malec, JF. (2012). The Perceived Control Scale for Brain Injury. The Center for Outcome Measurement in Brain Injury. http://www.tbims.org/combi/pcsbi ( accessed ).