Brief Resilience Scale

BRSWellbeing

6 items

A 6-item scale measuring the ability to bounce back or recover from stress. Unique in directly assessing resilience rather than protective factors.

Scoring

Items 2, 4, 6 are reverse-scored. Mean of all items (1–5). Higher scores = greater resilience.

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.

doi:10.1080/10705500802222972

License: Free for research use.

Items (6)

#1likert

I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times.

15 · "Strongly disagree" → "Strongly agree"

#2likertR

I have a hard time making it through stressful events.

15 · "Strongly disagree" → "Strongly agree"

#3likert

It does not take me long to recover from a stressful event.

15 · "Strongly disagree" → "Strongly agree"

#4likertR

It is hard for me to snap back when something bad happens.

15 · "Strongly disagree" → "Strongly agree"

#5likert

I usually come through difficult times with little trouble.

15 · "Strongly disagree" → "Strongly agree"

#6likertR

I tend to take a long time to get over set-backs in my life.

15 · "Strongly disagree" → "Strongly agree"

Use this scale in your own ESM/EMA study — embed it as a survey within SMAAT.