Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Oct 5:11:134.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-11-134.

Development of a multi-dimensional measure of resilience in adolescents: the Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire

Deirdre Gartland  1 , Lyndal Bond, Craig A Olsson, Simone Buzwell, Susan M Sawyer
Affiliations

Development of a multi-dimensional measure of resilience in adolescents: the Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire

Deirdre Gartland et al. BMC Med Res Methodol. .

Abstract

Background: The concept of resilience has captured the imagination of researchers and policy makers over the past two decades. However, despite the ever growing body of resilience research, there is a paucity of relevant, comprehensive measurement tools. In this article, the development of a theoretically based, comprehensive multi-dimensional measure of resilience in adolescents is described.

Methods: Extensive literature review and focus groups with young people living with chronic illness informed the conceptual development of scales and items. Two sequential rounds of factor and scale analyses were undertaken to revise the conceptually developed scales using data collected from young people living with a chronic illness and a general population sample.

Results: The revised Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire comprises 93 items and 12 scales measuring resilience factors in the domains of self, family, peer, school and community. All scales have acceptable alpha coefficients. Revised scales closely reflect conceptually developed scales.

Conclusions: It is proposed that, with further psychometric testing, this new measure of resilience will provide researchers and clinicians with a comprehensive and developmentally appropriate instrument to measure a young person's capacity to achieve positive outcomes despite life stressors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Tracking the ARQ scales through the revision process
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Masten AS. Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist. 2001;56(3):227–238. - PubMed
    1. Wyman P, Cowen E, Work W, Hoyt Meyers L, Magnus K, Fagen D. Caregiving and developmental factors differentiating young at-risk urban children showing resilient versus stress-affected outcomes: A replication and extension. Child Development. 1999;70(3):645–659. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00047. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rutter M. Resilience concepts and findings: Implications for family therapy. The Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. 1999;21:119–144.
    1. Egeland B, Carlson E, Sroufe LA. Resilience as process. Development and Psychopathology. 1993;5(4):517–528. doi: 10.1017/S0954579400006131. - DOI
    1. Masten A. Resilience in developing systems: Progress and promise as the fourth wave rises. Development and Psychopathology. 2007;19(3):921. doi: 10.1017/S0954579407000442. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types