Chemistry learning at the secondary level is cognitively demanding and increasingly shaped by digitally mediated instruction. However, most existing resilience measures are generic and do not capture the subject-specific and technology-related challenges faced by chemistry students. This study developed and validated the Chemistry Resilience Scale (CRS) as a multidimensional instrument for secondary-level learners. An initial pool of 60 items was generated from student open-ended responses and literature review and was refined through expert content validation. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with 513 students, yielding a 42-item solution. Confirmatory factor analysis on an independent sample of 306 students supported a refined six-factor structure after merging two highly correlated technology-related dimensions. The final model demonstrated acceptable fit (χ²/df = 1.69, RMSEA = 0.047, SRMR = 0.057, CFI = 0.87, TLI = 0.86) and strong internal consistency (α = 0.91), with evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Rural students reported significantly higher resilience than urban students, while no differences were observed by gender or academic stream. The CRS provides a psychometrically supported tool for assessing resilience in contemporary chemistry learning. Further validation across diverse educational contexts is recommended.
Siddique et al. (2026) studied this question.