Brief Resilience Scale
BRSA 6-item unidimensional scale measuring resilience in its original sense — the ability to bounce back or recover from stress.
Ready-to-cite methods sentence
Reliability & validation
Response anchors
Strongly disagree · Disagree · Neutral · Agree · Strongly agree
Known limitations
Measures recovery from stress rather than protective resources, so it is not interchangeable with resource-based resilience scales (e.g., the CD-RISC). Half the items are reverse-worded, which can introduce method effects.
Original 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.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972Questions researchers ask
What does the BRS measure?
A 6-item unidimensional scale measuring resilience in its original sense — the ability to bounce back or recover from stress.
How many items does the BRS have?
The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) has 6 items.
Is the BRS free to use?
The BRS is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.
Is the BRS reliable?
Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.85, test–retest reliability of 0.69. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.
Who developed the BRS, and how do I cite it?
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. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972
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Related scales
Library entry verified July 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.