Hardiness in high-stress occupations: A psychometric evaluation of the Dispositional Resilience Scale-15 in South African first responders

Hardiness, a psychological resilience trait comprising commitment, control, and challenge, has been widely studied in high-stress occupational groups. However, limited research has evaluated the psychometric properties of the Dispositional Resilience Scale-15 (DRS-15) in low- and middle-income contexts. This study investigated the psychometric of the DRS-15 in a sample of South African first responders ( n = 429). Psychometric paradigms used included Classical Test Theory (CTT), Mokken scale analysis (MSA), and Rasch modeling. MSA and confirmatory factor analyses supported a unidimensional structure for the DRS-15. Item 4 exhibited poor psychometric performance across Rasch, MSA and CTT indices. The DRS without item 4 demonstrated strong internal consistency, satisfactory item-total correlations and factor loadings. The DRS without item 4 is a reliable and valid measure of psychological hardiness among South African first responders. Findings highlight the utility of integrating various complementary psychometric paradigms.