Psychometric evaluation and validation of a short form of the Wagnild and young resilience scale in a Spanish adult sample

The Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale (RS) is widely used, but its length can be prohibitive in contexts requiring brief measures. This study aimed to explore the RS’s internal structure, develop a short RS version, compare it with the RS-25 and RS-14, and assess measurement invariance across sexes. A sample of 699 Spanish adults completed the RS-25 and additional measures of depression, anxiety, life satisfaction, and meaning in life. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a unidimensional structure for the RS-6, with excellent fit indices (CFI = 0.998, RMSEA = 0.048, SRMR = 0.039). The RS-6 showed good reliability (Ω = 0.83), strict invariance across sexes, and expected convergent validity, correlating negatively with depression and anxiety, and positively with life satisfaction and meaning in life. These results indicate that the RS-6 is a valid and reliable brief instrument for assessing resilience in time-constrained research or clinical contexts.