Understanding and Measuring Resilience in Older People in the UK
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding and Measuring Resilience: Psychometric Evaluation and Norming of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in Older People in the UK
IRAS ID
200654
Contact name
Priya Patel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bath
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
16-114, University of Bath Psychology Ethics Committee
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Traditionally, mental health research has focused on identifying and measuring symptoms of specific problems such as anxiety and depression. Comparatively little research has been done to measure and monitor changes in individuals’ global wellbeing and resilience.
The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) considers resilience to be a fluid process in which individuals’ ability to cope with stressors varies across situations and a higher score indicates greater resilience at a specific time-point. The CD-RISC has shown good reliability and validity when tested cross-culturally including in America, Korea and Spain. However, it has not yet been normed for older people in the UK (OPUK) and there is not currently a good psychometric measure of resilience for use with this population.
In addition, we are interested in qualitatively exploring a lifespan perspective of resilience and the differences in resilience between individuals who do and do not access mental health support as older adults, as these are currently under-researched areas.
Research Questions:
• Can we establish normative data for OPUK using the CD-RISC?
• How does psychological resilience differ across the lifespan from the perspective of OPUK?Procedure: Questionnaire packs consisting of the CD-RISC, psychometric measures of physical and emotional wellbeing and a questionnaire about life experiences will be distributed to 250 OPUK from clinical and community settings. Additionally, semi-structured interviews will be held with six participants to explore their understanding of resilience and how/why it may have changed over time.
It is hoped that having specific normative data for OPUK will be beneficial in helping shift the direction for future mental health research towards a more strengths-based approach. This may then inform clinical practice by using resilience measures to actively promote and monitor changes in individuals’ wellbeing, rather than focusing on simply treating ill health.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0434
Date of REC Opinion
21 Oct 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion