Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC)

Abstract

The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) is a robust, self-report psychological scale developed in 2003 by Kathryn M. Connor and Jonathan R.T. Davidson. Its primary function is to quantify resilience, which is defined within the instrument as the capacity to effectively cope with stress, trauma, and significant adversity. The original scale is comprised of 25 items, designed to assess five theoretical components of resilient functioning. This makes the CD-RISC a critical tool in both clinical research and therapeutic settings, particularly for evaluating outcomes related to trauma exposure, psychiatric disorders, and the efficacy of various interventions. The responses are captured using a 5-point Likert scale, generating a total score that reflects an individual’s overall capacity for stress resistance and positive adaptation.

Keywords

Resilience, psychological assessment, coping mechanism, stress resistance, trauma, psychometrics, factor analysis, CD-RISC, mental health, emotional regulation.

Authors

Kathryn M. Connor, Jonathan R.T. Davidson.

Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the CD-RISC is to provide a standardized, quantitative measure of an individual’s degree of stress resistance and inherent coping ability. Unlike many traditional clinical measures that focus predominantly on pathology, the CD-RISC adopts a positive psychology perspective, emphasizing psychological strengths and characteristics that enable an individual to overcome hardship and thrive in the face of adversity. It serves as a reliable method for assessing psychological hardiness and the capacity for recovery following major life challenges or crises.

Furthermore, the scale has proven highly valuable due to its sensitivity to therapeutic change. This characteristic makes it exceptionally useful in psychopharmacological trials and longitudinal studies involving conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder, and clinical depression. By tracking changes in CD-RISC scores over time, researchers and clinicians can objectively monitor the effectiveness of various therapeutic interventions or assess the long-term impact of stressful life events.

Construct

The CD-RISC operationalizes resilience not merely as stress tolerance, but as a dynamic, multidimensional construct encompassing five distinct, yet interconnected, components of adaptive function. This conceptualization integrates both internal resources, such as self-efficacy, personal control, and tenacity, and external resources, including secure interpersonal relationships and spiritual or existential beliefs.

The 25 items are carefully constructed to capture the respondent’s subjective view of their ability to manage life challenges, recover from illness or significant hardship, maintain clarity and focus under pressure, and effectively utilize social support systems. Collectively, the scale measures an individual’s personal strength and capacity for positive adaptation, reflecting their ability to flourish despite encountering substantial environmental or psychological stressors.

Validity

The original validation research established robust psychometric properties, demonstrating strong discriminant and convergent validity. Crucially, the CD-RISC successfully differentiated between individuals exhibiting psychiatric diagnoses (e.g., those with PTSD or generalized anxiety disorder) and control groups, with patient populations consistently scoring significantly lower on resilience measures.

In response to practical and clinical needs, validated abbreviated versions have been developed. These include the 10-item version (CD-RISC 10), validated by Campbell-Sills & Stein in 2007, and the 2-item version (CD-RISC2), developed by Vaishnavi et al. in the same year. These shorter forms retain high levels of validity and reliability, offering efficiency for rapid clinical screening. Extensive cross-cultural psychometrics studies, including those conducted across diverse samples such as Iranian populations, further confirm the scale’s widespread validity and applicability in varied clinical and cultural settings.

Reliability

The 25-item CD-RISC consistently exhibits high internal consistency across both clinical and non-clinical populations, with reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients typically exceeding 0.80. This substantial coefficient confirms that the items are homogenous and reliably measure the intended underlying construct of resilience.

Additionally, test-retest reliability studies, conducted over various time intervals, have established the temporal stability of the measure. This stability is essential for its utility in longitudinal research, enabling reliable tracking of changes in coping ability and treatment response over extended periods. The consistent reliability observed across multiple linguistic and cultural adaptations underscores the instrument’s consistency and broad utility.

Factor Analysis

The initial factor analysis of the full 25-item CD-RISC produced a robust five-factor solution. These five factors align closely with the theoretical dimensions of resilience originally conceptualized by Connor and Davidson. These dimensions represent the distinct, yet related, facets of stress resistance and adaptive capacity:

1. Personal Competence, High Standards, and Tenacity: Encompasses self-efficacy, goal orientation, and determination in the face of obstacles.
2. Trust in One’s Instincts, Tolerance of Negative Affect, and Strengthening Effects of Stress: Relates to emotional regulation, intuition, and perceiving adversity as an opportunity for growth.
3. Positive Acceptance of Change and Secure Relationships: Focuses on flexibility, adaptability, and the utilization of reliable social support networks.
4. Control: Measures the subjective perception of being in command of one’s personal life and immediate circumstances.
5. Spiritual Influences: Captures the supportive role of faith, fate, or spiritual beliefs in navigating hardship and maintaining hope.

While the full scale retains this complex five-factor structure for detailed analysis, the total score is frequently used in general clinical and research practice as a single, unidimensional metric of global resilience. Abbreviated versions, such as the CD-RISC 10, typically demonstrate an excellent fit with a simplified, single-factor model.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological Assessment.

Format: 25 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (not true at all) to 4 (true nearly all the time).

Language Available: English (original), and numerous validated translations including Iranian, Spanish, and Chinese.

Population Group: Clinical and non-clinical populations, suitable for general adult samples and individuals exposed to significant trauma or stress.

Age Group: Adults (typically 18 years and older).

Population Details: Originally validated on a diverse sample comprising psychiatric outpatients (including those diagnosed with PTSD and GAD) alongside community volunteers.

Test Methodology: Individual item scores are summed to produce a total resilience score, theoretically ranging from 0 to 100. Higher scores consistently indicate a greater capacity for resilience and stress mastery.

Keywords

Resilience, coping, stress resistance, mental health, psychological testing, CD-RISC, psychopharmacology, trauma recovery, stress mastery.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) was originally developed and published in 2003. Information regarding current usage permissions, licensing fees, and access for commercial or large-scale research use must be obtained directly from the copyright holders. Users should consult the official CD-RISC websites for the most up-to-date details: http://www.cd-risc.com/ and http://www.connordavidson-resiliencescale.com/.

The original PDF detailing the psychometric refinement of the scale, specifically the validation of the 10-item version (Campbell-Sills & Stein, 2007), can be downloaded here: http://repar.veille.qc.ca/info-tcc/IMG/pdf/Campbell-Sills_Stein_2007.pdf.

Reference’s

Key academic publications detailing the development, validation, and application of the CD-RISC include:

• Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R.T. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82.
• Cambells-Sills, Laura & Stein, Murray B. (2007). Psychometric Analysis and Refinement of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISK): Validation of a 10-Item Measure of Resilience. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20(6), 1019-1028.
• Vaishnavi, Sandeep., Connor, Kathryn., Davidson, Jonathan R.T. (2007). An abbreviated version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the CD-RISC2: Psychometric properties and applications in psychopharmacological trials. Psychiatry Res, 152(2-3): 293–297.
• Samani, S, et al. Effects of resilience on mental health and life satisfaction. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, 2007; 13: 290-295.
• Khoshouei, M.S. (2009). Psychometric evaluation of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) using Iranian students. Int J Testing.9, 60-66.
• Jowkar, B., Friborg, O., Hjemdal, O.(2010). Cross-cultural validation of the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) in Iran. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 418-425.
• Abolghasemi A, Rajabi S, Sheikhi M, Kiamarsi A, Sadrolmamaleki V. (2013). Comparison of resilience, positive/negative affect, and psychological vulnerability between Iranian infertile and fertile men. Iran J Psychiatry 2013; 7: 9-15.
• Derakhshanad, S.A., Piven, E., Rassafiani, M., Hosseini S,A., Shahboulaghi, F.M. (2014). Standardization of Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in Iranian subjects with cerebrovascular accident. J Rehabil Sci and Research 2014; 1: 73-77.
• Hubbard, Asale, “Racial socialization and resilience among african american college students: The role of racial identity” (2011). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 10152. http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/1015

Items of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I am able to adapt when changes occur.
2. I have at least one close and secure relationship which helps me when I am stressed.
3. When there are no clear solutions to my problems, sometimes fate or God can help.
4. I can deal with whatever comes my way.
5. Past successes give me confidence in dealing with new challenges and difficulties.
6. I try to see the humorous side of things when I am faced with problems.
7. having to cope with stress can make me stronger.
8. I tend to bounce back after illness, injury, or other hardships.
9. Good or bad, I believe that most things happen for a reason.
10. I give my best effort, no matter what the outcome may be.
11. I believe I can achieve my goals, even if there are obstacles.
12. Even when things look hopeless, I don‘t give up.
13. During times of stress/crisis, I know where to turn for help.
14. Under pressure, I stay focused and think clearly.
15. I prefer to take the lead in solving problems, rather than letting others make all the decisions.
16. I am not easily discouraged by failure.
17. I think of myself as a strong person when dealing with life‘s challenge and difficulties.
18. I can make unpopular or difficult decisions that affect other people, if it is necessary.
19. I am able to handle unpleasant or painful feelings like sadness, fear and anger.
20. In dealing with life‘s problems, sometimes you have to act on a hunch, without knowing why.
21. I have a strong sense of purpose in life.
22. I feel in control of my life.
23. I like challenges.
24. I work to attain my goals, no matter what roadblocks I encounter along the way
25. I take pride in my achievement.