National Resilience: A New Self-Report Assessment Scale

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Public Health

Background:

• National resilience is crucial for societal well-being, especially in diverse and conflict-affected populations.
• Existing measures may not fully capture the multifaceted nature of national resilience from an individual's perspective.
• Understanding individual-level national resilience is key to developing effective public policy and interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a new self-report scale for assessing national resilience: the National Resilience Assessment Scale (NRAS).
• To examine the internal structure and psychometric properties of the NRAS.
• To explore the relationship between the NRAS and established factors promoting or hindering national resilience, as well as demographic variables.

Main Methods:

• Development and validation of a 25-item self-report scale (NRAS) using a sample of 1022 Jewish Israeli adults.
• Varimax factor analysis was employed to determine the scale's internal structure.
• Convergent and discriminant validity were assessed by correlating NRAS scores with measures of community resilience, sense of coherence, distress symptoms, sense of danger, and demographic characteristics.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis revealed four distinct components of national resilience: identifying with the state, solidarity and social justice, trust in national institutions, and trust in public justice, explaining 61% of the variance.
• The NRAS scores demonstrated significant correlations with resilience-promoting factors (community resilience, sense of coherence) and resilience-suppressing factors (distress symptoms, sense of danger).
• The scale's validity was further supported by its consistent correlations with demographic variables such as religiosity, political attitudes, income, and exposure to trauma.

Conclusions:

• The National Resilience Assessment Scale (NRAS) is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring national resilience at the individual level.
• The four identified components provide a nuanced understanding of the psychological and social factors contributing to national resilience.
• The NRAS can be a valuable tool for researchers and policymakers aiming to assess and enhance national resilience in various populations.