Graduation Year

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Michael T. Brannick, Ph.D.

Co-Major Professor

Walter C. Borman, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Vicky Phares, Ph.D.

Keywords

coping, measurement, interactionism, adversity, hardiness, grit

Abstract

The current study developed a 40-item situational judgment test (SJT) to measure resilience in context. Undergraduate samples were used in the study and situational stems of the SJT consisted of both daily stressors and major life crises; each response alternative was designed to reflect one of five resilience-related factors. A crowd-sourcing method was utilized to create scoring keys for the SJT. The Resilience SJT demonstrated good psychometric properties, and showed evidence of construct and criterion-related validity. The SJT scores moderately correlated with scores from two resilience Likert scales, a hardiness scale as well as a negative affect scale. Compared to the two Likert-type resilience scales, the SJT demonstrated less overlap with hardiness, positive affect, and negative affect. Moreover, the SJT showed incremental validity in predicting global adjustment, but not academic achievement or college satisfaction, above and beyond the two other resilience measures. Lastly, the study examined different modes of resilient behavior and captured individuals’ mode choice tendencies for resilient responses to adverse situations. The Resilience SJT appears to be a viable alternative to capture resilience. Implications and limitations were discussed.

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