Exploring The Construct Validity Of The Two Versions Of The Resilience Scale In An Portuguese Adolescent Sample

Abstract

The Resilience Scale (RS) is an instrument developed by Wagnild and Young (1993) to access resilience levels. This study aims to explore the construct validity of the two existing versions of the RS. In a Portuguese sample of adolescents from public schools (n=180),, who participated in a Portuguese study about prevention of adolescent depression, both versions were assessed for dimensionality, reliability and concurrent validity. The Principal Components Analysis showed, for each version, one factor solution, respectively with 23 items (RS23) and 13 items (RS13). Good reliability was also found for both versions. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by significant positive correlations between resilience and flourishing scores and negative correlations between resilience, anxiety and depressive symptoms scores.