Cross-sectional evaluation of the socio-demographic factors on resilience amongst school going children using CYRM-R: A case of Shimla-India

Resilience enables children to handle life challenges, although the expression is significantly influenced by the sociodemographic and cultural factors. The revised Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) is employed to evaluate the resilience of school-going children in Shimla, India, an ecologically vulnerable and urbanizing region lacking in such research. This cross-sectional study evaluated the total resilience (two subscales: interpersonal and care-giver resilience) of 204 children from selected schools of Shimla aged between 14 and 18 years. The study employed Kruskal–Wallis tests and descriptive statistics to investigate the impact of age, gender, class, school type, residential location, family structure, living conditions, and parental education on resilience scores. Findings indicated 32.4% of students had high resilience, 49.5% moderate, and 18.1% low. Statistically significant differences in resilience scores emerged by class standard (p = .02), school type (p = .02), family type (p = .01), and mother’s education (p = .05). No significant associations were found for age, gender, residence, or father’s education. The study highlights the importance of maternal and educational factors in fostering resilience among children in under-represented, high-risk areas. Longitudinal studies ought to be employed to enhance future initiatives across varied linguistic and rural settings, incorporate maternal roles, and be tailored to local needs.