How are we measuring resilience in children? A systematic review

Resilience in children has received considerable interest from research bodies, policymakers, practitioners, and education bodies due to its potential impact on well-being, as well as physical and mental health. To support and cultivate resilience, appropriate measurement is important. However, numerous definitions and measures of resilience exist. To provide clarity, this paper offers a systematic review of measures used to assess resilience in children.

Systematic search conducted in Medline, ERIC, ProQuest Central, Scopus, PsychINFO, and Web of Science. Keywords included ‘resilien* and measure* and child*’. Eligible studies: assessed children aged 0–12 years, of all abilities; and, contained a measure to assess resilience, inclusive of parent, teacher, and/or child-report measures.

From 24,902 studies retrieved, 86 studies were included, identifying 54 measures for assessing resilience. 28 measures identified as proposing to measure resilience construct as their primary goal, whilst 27 were identified as proxy measures assessing constructs relating to resilience. Overall, 34 % of articles reported on both reliability and validity, with 20 % reporting neither of these.

While there is a range of measures used to assess resilience in children, there is a lack of consensus regarding what constructs and domains represent resilience. A large proportion had minimal or no psychometrics reported, highlighting the limitations of this area. This is an important starting point for consolidating how resilience is defined and measured within research.