Measuring Post-Secondary Student Resilience Through the Child & Youth Resilience Measure and the Brief Resilience Scale
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Measuring Post-Secondary Student Resilience Through the Child & Youth Resilience Measure and the Brief Resilience Scale by Hany Soliman A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Higher Education Graduate Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Hany Soliman 2017 Measuring Post-Secondary Student Resilience Through the Child & Youth Resilience Measure and the Brief Resilience Scale Master of Arts 2017 Hany Soliman Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education University of Toronto Abstract This thesis examines how the Child & Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12) and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) measure post-secondary student resilience as viewed by the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada, which breaks down resilience into competence domains and adaptive resources. Cognitive interviews were conducted to assess item comprehension, with some items causing confusion with students. The two scales were administered in a survey instrument for a sample of 87 second- and third-year undergraduate students. Internal consistency reliability is high for both the CYRM-12 (Cronbach’s alpha = .82) and the BRS (Cronbach’s alpha = .83). Exploratory Factor Analysis yielded a 3-factor solution for the CYRM-12 representing family, friends and community, and a 1-factor solution for the BRS representing the ability to recover from stress. Scores from both scales indicate strengths in motivation and achievement orientation with more variability in familial relations and community belongingness. Limitations include a low response rate. ii Acknowledgments I am both grateful for and humbled by this opportunity to conduct a master’s thesis project. It is a rewarding experience to be involved in assessing and improving methods to measure student health and success in Canadian post-secondary education. First and foremost, I must acknowledge Him who “makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him” (Psalm 37:23). His word is truly “a lamp for my feet, and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). I would not be here without the guidance and love of the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Secondly, I would like to sincerely thank and state my appreciation for my thesis supervisor, my mentor and a pillar of support in our department, Dr. Ruth Childs, who is the reason I was able to start and finish this entire project. Without her technical, professional and personal guidance I would not be where I am today, nor would I have been able to develop a critical and comprehensive view of research and practice. I would also like to thank my second reader, Kulamakan (Mahan) Kulasegaram, who was able to give me the most effective and informative crash course in factor analysis and scale assessment that made interpreting such messy data both possible and appropriate. Lastly, I must thank my family for all their support throughout the years as well as the DataHost Lab for all their valuable research tips and tricks. iii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii List of Appendices ....................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Outline......................................................................................................................................... 2 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Prevalence of Mental Health Issues ............................................................................................ 2 Relationship between Mental Health Issues and Student Success.............................................. 3 Role of Resilience ....................................................................................................................... 4 Local Context for the Study ........................................................................................................ 5 Rationale ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Disclosure of Interest .................................................................................................................. 7 Defining Resilience ......................................................................................................................... 7 Existing Definitions .................................................................................................................... 7 Working Definition ..................................................................................................................... 8 Theoretical Framework of Resilience ............................................................................................. 9 Existing Frameworks .................................................................................................................. 9 Working Framework ................................................................................................................. 10 Scales to Measure Resilience ........................................................................................................ 12 The Child & Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12) .............................................................. 13 The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)............................................................................................. 15 Mapping Scale Items onto Resilience Subconstructs ............................................................... 16 Methods ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Cognitive Interviews and Question Adaptation ........................................................................ 18 Target Population and Sampling Plan....................................................................................... 20 iv Survey Administration and Ethical Considerations .................................................................. 20 Data Collection Instrument ....................................................................................................... 21 Data Analysis Plan .................................................................................................................... 21 Results ........................................................................................................................................... 22 Sample Demographics .............................................................................................................. 22 Reliability Testing ..................................................................................................................... 25 Exploratory Factor Analysis ..................................................................................................... 27 CYRM-12 and BRS scores ....................................................................................................... 31 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 35 Resilience Scores ...................................................................................................................... 36 Reliability and Validity of the Two Scales ............................................................................... 38 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 41 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 42 References ..................................................................................................................................... 43 Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 51 v List of Tables Table 1: Mapping Items from the Child & Youth Resilience Measure and the Brief Resilience Scale onto the Resilience Framework …………………………………………………………...17 Table 2: Demographic Data for Respondents ............................................................................... 24 Table 3: Item Statistics for the Child & Youth Resilience Measure............................................. 26 Table 4: Item Statistics for the Brief Resilience Scale ................................................................. 27 Table 5: Factor Loadings,