Development and Validation of the Social Ecological Resilience Scale (SERS) from a Systems Perspective for Hong Kong Families

Abstract

This study examined the construct of resilience from a systems perspective and developed a new Social Ecological Resilience Scale measuring resilience in Hong Kong families. A total of 506 service users were recruited using convenience sampling. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to uncover the factor structures, while Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted to test the scale’s internal reliability and validity. A 44-item scale with a six-factor structure comprising emotional flexibility, coping, self-kindness, common humanity, family support and social support was revealed. The implications for conceptualizing resilience from a broader socio-cultural perspective and developing interventions are discussed.

Keywords:

• Social ecological resilience
• family resilience
• resilience scale
• family functioning
• hong kong families

Acknowledgement

This work was funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (HKJCCT), and was supported by the Integrated Family Service Centres of Hong Kong during data collection.

Declaration statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this study.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request.