Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Resilience Scale (RS-14): Preliminary results

Abstract

Background: In recent years, resilience has received extensive attention in psychology. The 14-Item Resilience Scale (RS-14) has been developed as a newer and shorter version of the resilience scale and has been applied in Western countries. In Eastern cultures, however, and particularly among Chinese populations, its factor structure remains unverified. The purpose of this study is to realize the first evaluation of the psychometric characteristics of the Chinese version of the RS-14 in young adults from Mainland China.

Methods: The resilience scale, Connor-Davidson resilience scale, general health questionnaire 12, perceived stress scale 14, general self-efficacy scale and meaning in life questionnaire were used to investigate 1010 undergraduates (321 male college students, 689 female college students, aged 17-25 years; mean age = 20.27; SD = 1.572). We evaluated the item quality, latent structure, reliability, criterion validity and differential item functioning on the gender variable.

Results: Through the analysis methods of exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic, the original single-factor model has been proven to be applicable within the Chinese population. Both an adequate construct validity and an excellent degree of reliability were reflected in the data. In addition, test-retest evinced good stability. The current study interrogates associations with external criteria, as well as providing evidence in support of the RS-14.

Conclusion: To sum up, this study showed that the RS-14 is a reliable assessment for measuring resilience in China, and provides an alternative to the original scale.