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The Resilience Scale (RS) was developed to evaluate the levels of resilience in the general population. Its reduced version (RS-14) has presented reliable internal consistency and external validity. However, its psychometric properties have not been systematically evaluated. The objective of this study was to present the psychometric properties of the Brazilian RS-14. A total of 1,139 subjects selected by convenience (62.9% women) from 14 to 59 years old (M 5 26.1, SD 5 11.61) participated in the study. Exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) and parallel analysis were conducted in order to assess the factor structure of the scale. A 13-item single-factor solution was achieved. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and multigroup CFA (MGCFA) corroborated the goodness of fit and measurement invariance of the obtained exploratory solution. The levels of resilience correlated negatively with depression and positively with meaning in life and self-efficacy.
Keywords: resilience; scale; validation; multigroup confirmatory factor analysis; parallel analysis
In the last decades, there has been an increasing interest in understanding the strengths that are associated with healthy adjustment trajectories, such as resilience (Campbell-Sills & Stein, 2007; Ryan & Caltabiano, 2009; von Soest, Mossige, Stefansen, & Hjemdal, 2010). As a key factor in the process of overcoming and adapting from negative events, resilience has become one of the most researched topics in the mental health field (Oshio, Kaneko, Nagamine, & Nakaya, 2003).
The theoretical and empirical literature on resilience reflects little consensus about its definition, with substantial variations in operationalization and measurement of key constructs (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). Some studies comprehend resilience as an individual characteristic that moderates the negative effects of stress and promotes positive adaptation (Charney, 2004; Wagnild & Young, 1993), whereas others explicitly rejected this individual trait model (Masten, 2001; Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990). This latter perspective understands resilience as a dynamic process involving personal strengths and capacities, external resources such as a healthy family environment, and presence of external support systems that reinforce efficient coping and adaptive adjustment. In others words, resilience is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that varies with context, time, age, gender, social support systems, family environments, and cultural origins, as well as individual capabilities (Luthar et al., 2000; Masten & Wright, 2010).
Because of the growing interest in this concept and the...