Brief Resilience Scale

What it measures

A brief measure of resilience specifically defined as the ability to recover from stress. Focuses on the recovery process rather than traits or resources. Three positively and three negatively worded items reduce acquiescence bias.

Representative items

• I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times.
• I have a hard time making it through stressful events. (R)
• It does not take me long to recover from a stressful event.
• It is hard for me to snap back when something bad happens. (R)
• I usually come through difficult times with little trouble.

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.