Measuring Resilience Across Participating Regions in the UPRIGHT EU Horizon 2020 Project: Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Resilience Scale for Adolescents

Abstract

Resilience is the process and outcome of healthy adaptation despite significant adversity. Proliferation of research on the resilience construct has led to scientific concerns about the operationalization and measurement of resilience for assessment science and practice. Various studies that have investigated the psychometric properties and construct validity of the Resilience Scale for Adolescents (READ) have yielded inconsistent findings, which could partly be due to variations in the methodological approaches. This study investigated the factor structure and construct validity of the READ in four European regions participating in the Universal Preventive Resilience Intervention Globally Implemented in Schools to Improve and Promote Mental Health for Teenagers (UPRIGHT) project. Participants included adolescents aged 10–15 years from Spain (n = 391, females = 51%), Iceland (n = 379, females = 55%), Italy (n = 460, females = 55%), and Poland (n = 316, females = 51%). The five-factor model of the READ was similar across gender and participating regions. Construct validity of the READ was supported. After establishing construct separability, incremental validity was supported (except for the social competence subscale). The READ is a valid and reliable measure of protective factors involved in resilience and demonstrates promise for cross-cultural applicability. Recommendations for measuring resilience and validating the READ in future investigations are provided.

Validation of the Arabic version of the resilience scale for adolescents (READ)

“…However, the factorial validity of the READ has led to inconsistent results. A cross-country validation showed that the five-factor model was similar in adolescents aged 10–15 years from four European countries (Spain, Iceland, Italy, Poland) [ 28 ], whereas other studies showed problematic items loading, and were able to retain five-factor solution only after removing a number of items (e.g., 26 items [ 29 ], 23 items [ 30 ], and 20 items [ 16 ]). The factors of the READ have been proven to have a Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.69 for the ‘structured style’ factor till 0.89 for the ’family cohesion’ factor [ 16 , 30 ].…”

“…Furthermore, while negative life events, like the divorce of one’s parents or the death of a loved one, are associated with lower scores on the READ scale, one’s engagement in hobbies, such as sports, correlates with higher READ scores [ 34 ]. Overall, the psychometric properties of the READ have been verified in various countries and languages, including Italian [ 32 ], German [ 35 ], Spanish [ 29 , 36 ], Icelandic, and Polish [ 28 ]. However, no Arabic version has been made available to date.…”

“…The READ was chosen because it is the only measure to comply with the resilience theoretical framework, incorporating the three salient domains recognized as mutually involved in resilience (i.e., individual, family, and external environment factors). The READ has also proven its measurement invariance across Western cultures and countries [ 28 ]. However, it is crucial to test its psychometric properties in settings and contexts other than Western European [ 16 ], in order to confirm its originally proposed factor model, and determine whether resilience has the same meaning across various cultures and populations.…”