A Psychometric Assessment of the Self-Reported Youth Resiliency: Assessing Developmental Strengths Questionnaire

Abstract

As opposed to the problem-based approach of dealing with specific at-risk behaviors, the objective of the self-reported Youth Resiliency: Assessing Developmental Strengths questionnaire is to provide a statistically sound and research-based approach to understanding the factors that contribute to the development of adolescent resiliency. The study of protective factors, or the more recent attempts at conceptualizing the phenomena of individual resiliency, has been prevalent in the social and health sciences research for decades. In this study, the psychometric characteristics of the Youth Resiliency questionnaire, based on a large urban sample of Grades 7 to 9 adolescents ( N = 2,291), are presented. The findings from this study present a potential framework for understanding the construct and function of resiliency as it pertains to both the extrinsic and intrinsic factors of adolescent development.