Development of the Resilience Scale for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Republic of Korea

This study aimed to develop and validate a resilience measurement scale for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Through interviews with PLWHA, resilience attributes were identified, resulting in 42 initial items. After validating construct validity, three items were excluded, leaving 39 items for further testing. Data were collected from 228 participants across two hospitals, the Korean Association for AIDS Prevention in Seoul, a Daegu branch, and two HIV-related self-help groups between April 3 and September 23, 2017. Exploratory factor analysis identified five factors and 25 items, explaining 69.43% of the total variance: positive feeling, antiretroviral agent management, information and resource use, positive relationships, and interaction. The final scale included 19 items across these five factors. Criterion, convergent, and discriminant validity were confirmed through correlations with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, resilience for PLWHA, and measures of depression and anxiety, respectively. Reliability was supported with a Cronbach's α of 0.89 and test-retest reliability of 0.67. The scale shows promise as a robust screening tool for resilience in PLWHA, applicable in diverse nursing practices and research domains.