A psychometric evaluation of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale for Australian Aboriginal youth

Gorman, E., Heritage, B.ORCID: 0000-0002-6437-7232, Shepherd, C.C.J. and Marriott, R.ORCID: 0000-0002-6037-2565 (2021) A psychometric evaluation of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale for Australian Aboriginal youth. Australian Psychologist .

Abstract

Objective: There is a paucity of quantitative measures of resilience specifically validated for young Aboriginal people in Australia. We undertook the first investigation of validity and reliability of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in a sample of Australian Aboriginal people, with a focus on youth.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study of resilience among a sample of 122 Aboriginal youth (15–25 years old) in New South Wales and Western Australia, featuring self-completes of the 10-item CD-RISC in online (N = 22) and face-to-face (N = 100) settings. A Rasch analysis using the 122 CD-RISC responses determined item independence, response category adequacy, differential item functioning, unidimensional measurement, person and item reliability, and item fit. Confirmatory factor analysis was also conducted, complementary to the Rasch analysis.

Results: Four problematic items from the original instrument were removed, due to item dependence (items 2, 6 and 9; Q 3,* > 0.30) and differential item functioning (item 4; > 0.43 logits between males and females). The final 6-item instrument exhibited improved item separation (ISI = 2.14) and reliability index values (IRI =.82) – suggesting an improved structure – however several limitations such as a prominent ceiling effect were evident (i.e., positive measure targeting coefficient of 0.99 logits).

Conclusion: Findings suggest the CD-RISC instrument should be applied in Aboriginal contexts with caution. Further psychometric examination of the CD-RISC with Aboriginal youth is warranted before it can be used with confidence by researchers and clinicians.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	Ngangk Yira Research Centre
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/59828

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