1. The Resiliency Scale for Young Adults Revisited
Sabrina Ford, Don Saklofske, Claire Wilson
Abstract
Methods
Discussion
Resiliency has been examined in past research using a scale for children and adolescents, called the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents1,2 (RSCA). The RSCA is based on a three-factor model for resiliency that includes Sense of Mastery, Sense of Relatedness, and Emotional Reactivity1. The RSCA has recently been revised to young adults, by developing the Resiliency Scale for Young Adults (RSYA). The current study is a replication of the 2016 study by Prince-Embury et al. that presented psychometric support for the RSYA. A sample of first year undergraduate students at Western University were administered the online RSYA at time 1 and time 2 during the Fall 2016 semester. The current study examines the internal consistency and also the test-retest reliability of this measure, as well as replicating various analyses completed in the 2016 study.
Participants
Time 1 N = 290, Time 2 N = 117
Age M = 18.01, SD = 1.43 at Time 1, M = 17.82, SD = .66 at Time 2
63 males, 227 females at Time 1, 19 males, 98 females at Time 2
Materials
The Resiliency Scale for Young Adults4
The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale5
The Satisfaction with Life Scale6
Procedure
Recruitment was done through SONA and all measures were completed online with Qualtrics
Participants from Time 1 were contacted again to recruit for Time 2
This study found good internal consistency within each factor and also within the overall scale and is in line with the findings of the 2016 study.
The test-retest shows that, although students would have typically been experiencing higher stress in December than November and September due to exams and final projects, their resiliency stayed stable, as it was expected to.
Resiliency is a relatively stable trait, and should therefore be fairly consistent throughout different periods of an individual’s life.
There was a positive correlation with the protective factors and the SWLS, and a negative correlations with the DASS-21.
Alternatively, there was a significant positive correlation with the DASS-21 for Emotional Reactivity and negative with SWLS.
The positive relationship between the protective factors and SWLS indicates that those with high resiliency here as Sense of Mastery and Relatedness, are more satisfied with their life overall.
The correlations found at time 2 were similar to the ones found at time 1 for the RSYA facets and the DASS-21 scales.
This study has therefore found that the RSYA is a reliable measure and reasonably stable measure for indicating a person’s trait of resiliency over time, and also at measuring the individual factors that comprise resiliency.
The current study found the same significant results obtained in the 2016 study and found more support for the scale by finding strong test-retest reliability.
Results
Introduction
The young adult’s first experience of university and/or living independently has been found to be a time with an increased risk of developing stress-related pathologies.3
Researchers have found that resiliency is a good predictor of how students cope and adapt in the new university setting4.
Researchers have found three clusters of typical systems that individuals develop over time, which can then highly influence their levels of resiliency.
The three factors in this model are Sense of Mastery, Sense of Relatedness, and Emotional Reactivity.
These three factors were developed into the RSCA, and then further developed into the RSYA.
My hypotheses are to confirm that the findings, found in a study that analyzed the psychometric properties of the RSYA4, are replicable and to add test-retest reliability.
The 2016 study found good internal consistency, and reliability, as well as significant correlations with other, already established measures.
References
1 Prince-Embury, S. (2006). Resiliency Scales for Adolescents: Profiles of personal strength. San
Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment.
2 Prince-Embury, S. (2007). Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents: Profiles of personal
strength. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment.
3 Galatzer-Levy, I. R., Burton, C. L., & Bonanno, G. A. (2012). Coping flexibility, potentially
traumatic life events, and resilience: A prospective study of college student adjustment. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 31,
4 Prince-Embury, S., Saklofske, D. H., & Norstokke, D. (2016). The resiliency scale for young
adults. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, doi: /
5 Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states:
Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression
and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33,
6 Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: