Validation and Psychometric Properties of the Resilience Scale-5 (RS-5): Results of a Representative Survey of the German General Population

Objectives: The aim of the present study was the validation of the Resilience Scale 5 (RS-5) developed by Von Eisenhart Rothe et al. in the general population, specifically younger population groups, as well as the establishment of norm values. That included the analysis of psychometric properties such as item and scale characteristics, factor structure, validity towards related psychological constructs, measurement invariance as well as comparison of means based on sociodemographic variables.

Methods: The study sample (n=4972) can be considered representative of the general population and was acquired utilizing a sampling procedure that ensured random selection. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to confirm the uni-factorial structure of the questionnaire. Measurement invariance was tested using multigroup analysis. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to determine convergent validity towards related constructs.

Results: The RS-5 showed satisfactory model fit. Item and scale characteristics, including reliability, were excellent. Measurement invariance for age, gender, and education groups was shown. Resilience mean comparisons showed significant differences for several sociodemographic groups, that should be further analyzed in future research. Norm values are reported.

Conclusion: To sum up, the RS-5 is a reliable and valid measure of resilience for older and younger populations alike. It displays a good model fit and can be recommended for usage in research and clinical applications.

Author(s):

Bjarne Schmalbach, Markus Zenger, Bernhard Strauß, Andreas Hinz, Ileana Steffens-Guerra, Oliver Decker, Elmar Brähler

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