Resilience Evaluation Scale: translation and psychometric validation in Brazilian Portuguese.

Background

Potentially traumatic events (PTEs) are highly prevalent in Brazil. Resilience is a key psychological factor in adaptive responses following PTEs. The Resilience Evaluation Scale (RES) is a brief instrument to assess resilience not yet validated in Brazil. The original RES demonstrated a two-factor structure (Self-Efficacy and Self-Confidence), although further studies have reported mixed findings regarding its factor structure.

Objective

We aimed to translate and validate the RES by examining its factorial structure, reliability, and construct validity in a Brazilian general population sample.

Methods

The RES was translated into Brazilian Portuguese and administered via an online survey alongside measures of psychological distress. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the factorial structure. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's alpha, inter-item correlations, and corrected item-total correlations. Construct validity was assessed using Spearman's correlations between RES scores and psychological distress measures.

Results

A total of 355 participants were included (mean age = 38.96 years; 78.3% female; 87.3% reported lifetime PTE exposure). The mean RES total score was 23.85 (SD = 6.31). The Brazilian RES replicated the original two-factor structure (Self-Efficacy and Self-Confidence) with acceptable model fit (CFI = 0.975, TLI = 0.965, SRMR = 0.047, RMSEA = 0.098). Internal consistency was good (α = .87), with α = .79 for Self-Efficacy and α = .87 for Self-Confidence. RES scores were negatively associated with psychological distress (all ps < .01).

Conclusion

The Brazilian RES demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, supporting its use as a measure of resilience in the Brazilian general population.