The Resilience Scale™

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Buy the Resilience Scale User's Guide today!

The Resilience Scale User's Guide™ is essential if you want to properly administer the Resilience Scale and accurately interpret your results. More...

With the purchase of a Resilience Scale User's Guide, you will receive FREE the following 20-page Special Report (a US$10 value):

Click here to see the Table of Contents.

Click here to read the Abstract.

Click here to learn more about the Resilience Scale User's Guide™

This is the official home of the Resilience Scale™, the highly popular instrument that measures psychological resilience, designed by Drs. Wagnild and Young.

The Resilience Scale is considered by many to be the most accurate instrument to measure resilience currently available. Unlike instruments based on theoretical definitions, the Resilience Scale is derived from actual interviews with resilient individuals. The Resilience Scale has received strong reliability and validity support for the past 17 years. The term "Resilience Scale" is an internationally copyrighted trademark of Drs. Wagnild & Young.

"Discovering Your Resilience Core" is a new article on Resilience by Dr. Wagnild. It can change the way you look at Resilience, and can fundamentally alter the way that you live your life. Click on the link above or go to our Free Papers page by clicking the button at the top of any page (31May2010).

We have published a Frequently Asked Questions page that you may find extremely helpful if you want to know more about Resilience and using the Resilience Scale. Click on the link above or go to the FAQs page by clicking the button at the top of any page (5June2010).

We have fixed a bug in the Online Resilience Scale Test page that was keeping users from selecting certain educational levels (18July2010).

You can obtain the Resilience Scale (RS) and the RS-14 without charge, as long as you comply with our Terms of Use.
We strongly recommend that you purchase the Resilience Scale User's Guide™, a "must-have" tool if you want to use the Resilience Scale properly and interpret your results effectively. See the sidebar for more information.
You can now measure your own resilience online. Fill out and submit the Resilience Scale, and upon completion, you will see a short interpretation of your score, written by Dr. Wagnild, co-inventor of the Resilience Scale.

Defining Individual Resilience

Resilience is the ability to successfully cope with change or misfortune.
   Resilient individuals regain their balance and keep going, despite adversity and misfortune. They find meaning amidst confusion and tumult. Resilient persons are self-confident and understand their own strengths and abilities. They do not feel a pressure to conform but take pleasure in being unique and will ‘go it alone’ if necessary. Resilient individuals have confidence in their ability to persevere because they have done so before and anticipate rather than fear change and challenges.
   Being resilient does not mean that an individual will ‘bounce back’ and return to the same position after experiencing difficulties, but it does mean that equilibrium will be re-established. Resilient persons experience the same difficulties and stressors as everyone else; they are not immune or hardened to stress, but they have learned how to deal with life’s inevitable difficulties and this ability sets them apart.
   Please see our white paper entitled "Discovering Your Resilience Core." The Resilience Scale User's Guide™ (see sidebar) provides the most complete explanation of Resilience.

Measuring Individual Resilience

The original Resilience Scale (RS™) was created and copyrighted by Gail Wagnild, RN, PhD, LAC and Heather Young, PhD, FAAN, GNP to measure Resilience in individuals. The Resilience Scale (RS™) is based on sound scientific research and has been used successfully for over fifteen years by thousands of researchers all over the world.
The Resilience Scale User's Guide, now available for purchase, is a must-have tool for anyone serious about using the Resilience Scale and/or the RS-14. It provides important information about resilience, the development of the instruments, and it gives you considerable statistical detail about research using them. It contains an extensive list of references, and helps you to understand the best way to use the scales and interpret your results. Click here for more information.
You may also refer to a publication on the psychometric properties of the RS in the Journal of Nursing Measurement for further information on the initial reliability and validity of the RS. (Wagnild, GM, & Young, HM. 1993. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Resilience Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 1, 165-178.)