Assessing Personal Resiliency in School Settings: The Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Recent understanding of education and human development recognises the importance of psychosocial factors, particularly personal resiliency, in the academic success of children and youth. This article presents the examination of resiliency within school settings for the purpose of preventive screening, intervention and outcomes assessment. The Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (Prince-Embury, 2007) is described as an example of an instrument developed specifically for this purpose. This description identifies developmentally sound factors of personal resiliency that are relevant for children and youth in school settings. Also addressed are criteria of psychometric soundness required for universal screening and impact tracking, norm-based profiles of personal resiliency and summary indices of resource and vulnerability for use in screening.