Psychometric properties of the resilience scale in Mexican patients with chronic hemodialysis

Abstract

Introduction. Resilience consists of a series personalized skills to cope with adverse situations and overcome them, and even emerge strengthened. Resilience in patients with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) treated with hemodialysis (HD) has been evaluated with general questionnaires that are not specific for this population. Objective. To evaluate the psychometric properties of a resilience questionnaire in patients treated with chronic HD. Method. The study included 280 patients with CRI (aged 18 to 85, 44% women) treated with HD for at least two months in six hemodialysis units in Mexico, who completed Beck’s depression and anxiety inventories, an inventory of cognitive distortions, and the Mexican Resilience Measurement Scale (RESI-M). Results. Owing to the duplication of more than one factor, two of the 43 items were eliminated in the exploratory factor analysis. We confirmed five factors that explained 63.4% of the total variance, with a Cronbach’s alpha of .96 (the alpha ranges in the five factors from .85 to .95). The confirmatory analysis showed a theoretical structural model that fits the empirical data in an acceptable, balanced, and parsimonious way. The five factors correlate positively with each other and negatively with anxiety and depression symptoms and distorted thoughts. Discussion and conclusion. The RESI-M scale is valid and reliable for assessing resilience in patients treated with chronic HD. Resilience factors evaluated with RESI-M are a potential therapeutic target to reduce depression and anxiety symptoms in these patients.