Psychometric properties of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in Chinese earthquake victims.

AIM: Resilience refers to positive adaption in the face of stress or trauma. Assessing resilience is crucial in trauma-related research and practice. The 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) has been demonstrated to be a valid and reliable tool to achieve this goal. This study was designed to examine the psychometric properties of the 10-item CD-RISC in a sample of Chinese earthquake victims.

METHODS: A total of 341 participants (185 women, 156 men) aged 20-63 years were recruited from a psychological relief program supported by the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences following the 'Wenchuan' earthquake. The participants were given the 10-item CD-RISC and the 17-item post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subscale of the Los Angeles Symptom Checklist (LASC) 4 months after the earthquake.

RESULTS: The results of exploratory factor analysis indicated that a single-factor model consistent with the original design of the 10-item CD-RISC was support. The scale was also demonstrated to have good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.90 for a two-week interval). Scores on the scale could reflect different levels of resilience in populations that are thought to be differentiated (probable PTSD vs healthy controls, t(339) = -7.60, P < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.84). Moreover, the total resilience scores were significantly negatively correlated with scores on total PTSD scale and its three subscales for all participants.

CONCLUSION: The Chinese version of the 10-item CD-RISC has excellent psychometric properties, and is applicable for Chinese people.