Breaking Down the Impact of Resilience on Mental Health: An Analysis Utilizing the Resilience Scale for Adults

Abstract

Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from diffi culties, and previous studies have determined that resilience has a relationship with mental health. However, the association of each aspect of resilience on mental health, depression, and adverse childhood events (ACEs) have not been closely examined. Discerning which aspects of resilience are associated with mental health issues, depression, and ACEs can help psychiatric nurses determine eff ective treatments and interventions for at-risk patients. One hundred ninety-fi ve community-dwelling participants (ages 18 to 89) were invited to Purdue University in Indiana and Scripps College in California for the study. Participants completed the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA), which examines six aspects of resilience: perception of self, planned future, social competence, structured style, family cohesion, and social resources. Additionally, the SF-12® Health Survey, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, and an ACE survey were completed. Using the six aspects of resilience as predictors, three hierarchical regression models were built with SF-12®, CES-D, and ACE as dependent variables. Findings showed that negative perception of self and impaired sense of planned future were associated with mental health issues; additionally, a lack of social resources was associated with depression, and weakened family cohesion was associated with ACEs. Psychiatric nurses can utilize the RSA during initial assessments to determine the most problematic areas for patients and fi nd ways to target their treatment and interventions. Pediatric nurses can also assess ACEs present in a child’s life and encourage family therapy sessions to promote family cohesion.