Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)

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.

PMID or DOI: PMID: 18696313, DOI: 10.1080/10705500802222972

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Resilience

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Brief Resilience Scale was created to assess the perceived ability to bounce back or recover from stress. The scale was developed to assess a unitary construct of resilience, including both positively and negatively worded items.

Number of items: 6

Example statement/item: “I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times” 

Response options: 5-point scale response, 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree, 5=strongly agree 

Total score: Higher average scores indicate higher levels of perceived resilience. Three items are reverse-coded before scoring.

Examples of studies that link to health outcomes:

Felix, A. S., Lehman, A., Nolan, T. S., Sealy-Jefferson, S., Breathett, K., Hood, D. B., … & Jackson, R. D. (2019). Stress, resilience, and cardiovascular disease risk among black women: results from the Women’s Health Initiative. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 12(4), e005284. **adapted Brief Resilience Scale used**