Convergent and divergent validity of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in children with concussion and orthopaedic injury

ABSTRACT

Objective. Psychological resilience is an important predictor of outcome in concussion; however, there is no published evidence of psychometric support for use of a measure of psychological resilience in children with concussion. This study examined construct validity of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in a paediatric concussion and orthopaedic injury sample.

Methods. Seventy-five children with a history of concussion or orthopaedic injury were recruited from a children’s hospital. Total sample and within-group correlations between the CD-RISC (25- and 10-item versions) and measures presumed to be related or unrelated to the construct of psychological resilience were analysed.

Results. In the total sample, both versions of the CD-RISC were negatively correlated with self-reported depressive symptoms and general behaviour problems. The 10-item version was also negatively correlated with parent-reported general behaviour problems and self-reported anxiety, and was positively correlated with self-reported quality of life. The injury groups did not exhibit significantly different correlations.

Conclusions. The construct validity of the CD-RISC is satisfactory when used with children with concussion. The 10-item version may provide a more efficient measure of resiliency with better construct validity in this population.

KEYWORDS:

• Mild traumatic brain injury
• paediatric
• psychometrics
• validity
• hardiness

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen PhD and Vina Goghari PhD for being part of Ms. Laliberté Durish’s MSc committee. The autho+rs thank the members of the NEURO-detect study team (Zeanna Jadavji BSc, Shane Virani MSc, Vickie Plourde PhD, Trevor Low BSc, Helen Carlson PhD, Karen Barlow MB ChB MRCPCH (UK) MSc, Michael Esser MD PhD, Kathryn Schneider PhD PT, Frank MacMaster PhD, Catherine Lebel PhD, R. Marc Lebel PhD, Signe Bray PhD, and Ashley Harris PhD). Thanks to Lonna Mitchell BA and Kalina Slepicka BA for scoring protocols and (alphabetically) Amy Bobyn, Dominique Bonneville BA (Hons), Shauna Bulman, Shelby MacPhail, Maya Sohn, and Cole Sugden for assistance with data entry. Thanks to Brenda Turley BA (Hons), Carolyn Emery PhD PT, and Kathryn Schneider PhD PT for assisting with recruitment. Recruitment of some control participants was done using the Healthy Infants and Children Clinical Research Program database (HICCUP; http://www.ucalgary.ca/paediatrics_hiccup). Thank you to the families who participated in this study and generously donated their time to research.

Declaration of interest

Brian Brooks receives royalties for the sales of the Paediatric Forensic Neuropsychology textbook (2012, Oxford University Press) and three paediatric neuropsychological tests [Child and Adolescent Memory Profile (ChAMP, Sherman and Brooks, 2015, PAR Inc.), Memory Validity Profile (MVP, Sherman and Brooks, 2015, PAR Inc.), and Multidimensional Everyday Memory Ratings for Youth (MEMRY, Sherman and Brooks, 2017, PAR Inc.)]. He previously received in-kind support (free test credits) from the publisher of a computerised cognitive test (CNS Vital Signs, Chapel Hill, North Carolina) for prior studies. Keith Yeates receives royalties for book sales from Guilford Press and Cambridge University Press, and occasionally serves as a paid expert in forensic cases. This project was funded by the Shaikh Family Research Award (distributed by the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute) awarded to Brian Brooks, with additional support from the Ronald and Irene Ward Chair in Paediatric Brain Injury (awarded to Keith Yeates). Christianne Laliberté Durish received funding from Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS) and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI) in the form of graduate studentships. Brian Brooks received salary support from the CIHR Embedded Clinical Research Award. None of the authors have a financial interest in any measures used in the present study. The authors report no use of scientific writing assistant.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Shaikh Family Research Award.