Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Resilience Scale in a Spanish Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Sample

The concept of resilience is receiving increasing attention in the field of chronic pain. It has been shown to play a protective role in patients with osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite this finding, no resilience measurements have been validated in chronic pain populations. The Resilience Scale (RS) is a well-known instrument that has been used to assess resilience in studies conducted in the general population. When used in chronic pain samples, this scale presented the highest internal consistency compared to other resilience scales. The main aim of this study was to provide data on the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the RS in a sample of chronic musculoskeletal pain patients (n = 300). Factor analyses revealed a single-factor solution of 18 items (RS-18), which accounted for 52.43% of the total variance of this scale. The RS-18 shows good reliability (internal consistency and stability) and construct validity. This scale has the advantage of excluding items closely related to functional disability and impairment. Furthermore, the RS-18 significantly correlated with several pain-related variables (ie, catastrophizing, pain acceptance, active and passive pain coping, anxiety, depression, pain-related anxiety, disability, functioning, impairment, and pain intensity). Clinicians and researchers are thus provided with a valid and reliable instrument to assess resilience in chronic pain populations.PerspectiveThis article presents the first resilience questionnaire (RS-18) for chronic pain patients. The instrument obtained shows good reliability and validity. The results provide health-care professionals and researchers with a measure of resilience in chronic pain patients that excludes items related to functional disability.