Psychometric evaluation of the child and youth resilience measure across migration background groups among adolescents in Norway

Introduction Resilience is conceptualized as a dynamic ecological process, yet its assessment across diverse populations remains a methodological challenge. Although the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28) has been evaluated across cultural settings, its psychometric properties have not been examined among adolescents in Norway or across migration background groups. Methods This cross-sectional study included 829 adolescents aged 15–18 years from Norwegian upper secondary schools. Confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance testing were conducted across adolescents without an immigrant background, first-generation immigrant adolescents, and second-generation immigrant adolescents. Results The original three-factor model showed suboptimal fit, while an adapted model with five theoretically interpretable correlated residuals showed improved fit. Measurement invariance analyses supported comparable thresholds and factor loadings across groups based on changes in approximate fit indices, with partial intercept invariance supported after allowing the intercept of item 9 to vary. Relational resources showed the most consistent measurement properties, whereas the contextual domain showed lower reliability and weaker performance of religion-related items. Strong correlations between individual and contextual resources further indicated limited differentiation between these domains. Discussion Overall, the findings provide qualified support for the CYRM-28 while highlighting aspects requiring careful linguistic, cultural, and contextual interpretation.