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Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)

The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) is a 6-item, self-reported measure of an individual's ability to bounce back or recover from stress. The items assess an individual’s ability to bounce back quickly after a stressful event or life’s set-backs.

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female, Male

Age Range: Adolescents, Adults

Items:

1. I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times
2. I have a hard time making it through stressful events *(R)
3. It does not take me long to recover from a stressful event
4. It is hard for me to snap back when something bad happens *(R)
5. I usually come through difficult times with little trouble
6. I tend to take a long time to get over set-backs in my life *(R)

Response Options:
Strongly disagree - 1
Disagree - 2
Neutral - 3
Agree - 4
Strongly agree - 5

*Items 2, 4 and 6 are reverse scored.

Scoring Procedures

Total scores are the mean of all item responses and range from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate a higher level of resilience.

Original Citation

Smith, B.W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008). The Brief Resilience Scale: Assessing the Ability to Bounce Back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15(3), 194-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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