International Student Resilience Scale (ISRS): Development and Validation in the United States

Objective This study aimed to develop and validate the International Student Resilience Scale (ISRS) for use with international students in U.S. higher education.Method International students completed an initial item pool for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 347) and an independent sample completed the retained items and a resilience measure for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (analytic n = 290 from 336 collected responses).Result EFA supported a three-factor structure with 48 retained items. CFA supported the final model with acceptable fit indices. ISRS scores showed acceptable internal consistency. ISRS scores correlated in expected directions with resilience.Conclusions ISRS scores may support counselors and international students service professionals in identifying resilience resources and tailoring supports. Future studies should examine score generalization across regions and student subgroups.