Resilience and subjective wellbeing: a psychometric evaluation in young Australian adults

Objective: Resilience is an important and underdeveloped area of research, and there are few studies that describe levels of resilience among youth samples. A major aim of this research is to explore the utility of an adapted form of the 10-item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale and to clarify the association between this construct and a robust measure of subjective wellbeing. Method: A representative sample of 1000 Victorians aged 16-25 years participated in a telephone interview comprising the modified 10-item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index. Results: The modified 10-item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale demonstrated adequate inter-item reliability and factored as intended. A moderate, positive correlation was found between the modified 10-item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale and the Personal Wellbeing Index. Significance testing revealed group differences for gender, age, and annual household income. The results are also used to establish theoretical "normal" ranges for resilience in Victoria's youth population. Conclusion: The results from this study support the modified 10-item Connor Davidson Resilience Scale as a valid and reliable measure of young people's resilience using traditional psychometric tests. Moreover, this is the first study to describe the levels of resilience among Victorian youths and to evaluate these data alongside a robust measure of subjective wellbeing. The implications of the findings for government policy and service delivery are discussed.