Article 1
Validation of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure among Jamaican Young Adults: Towards the assessment of risk and resilience in a Caribbean population
Leslie S. Craig
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine,
New Orleans
Vanessa Paisley-Clare
Tiffany A. Palmer
Ishtar O. Govia
Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR)*, The University of the West Indies, Mona
Abstract
Complexity in defining the construct resilience has led to considerable challenges and little consensus in its operationalization, with a recent systematic review of available measurement scales encouraging further validation work on all resilience measures. The current studies assess the validity, reliability and utility of the 28-item Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28), which was developed and tested to support a more cross-cultural and comprehensive understanding of resilience, using two samples of Jamaican young adults. To determine the underlying factor structure of the CYRM-28, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed in one sample (N = 95; mean age = 21.60 years ± 2.63), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the resulting structure in a second sample (N = 250; mean age = 26.52 years ± 5.28). Convergent validity and internal consistency were examined. Floor and ceiling effects were also assessed. EFA revealed a 4-dimensional structure, consisting of social, individual, community and family/spiritual factors. The CYRM-28 and its subscales showed high internal consistency, good convergent validity and no floor or ceiling effects. CFA results further supported the identified four-factor structure. In conclusion, the CYRM-28 showed good psychometric properties in samples of community dwelling young adults in Jamaica. Future studies should explore the measure’s validity and reliability for assessing individual, relationship and contextual dimensions of resilience throughout research and practice in larger samples of young adults in Jamaica and other Caribbean contexts.