The Resilience Scale for Adults: Construct Validity and Measurement in a Belgian Sample

Abstract

The Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) was developed and has been extensively validated in Norwegian samples. The purpose of this study was to explore the construct validity of the Resilience Scale for Adults in a French-speaking Belgian sample and test measurement invariance between the Belgian and a Norwegian sample. A Belgian student sample (N = 363) completed the RSA, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25), and Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29). A Norwegian second sample (N = 315) was included in the analyses of invariance of the RSA. There were expected positive and negative significant correlations with SOC-29 and HSCL-25, respectively. The metric invariance was supported, with the exception of one of the six RSA factors. The findings demonstrate that the RSA may be a valid and reliable self-report measure of protective factors and further the results also indicated cross-cultural validity for the RSA in a French-speaking Belgian sample.

Keywords:

• Belgian
• Belgium
• cross-cultural validity
• HSCL-25
• resilience
• Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA)
• SOC-13

Notes

*p < .05, g = Hedge's g (effect size), α = Cronbach's alpha, ρ = Raykov's rho based on congeneric scores.