BRS: Brief Resilience Scale

The BRS is a 6-item validated measure of psychological resilience, the ability to bounce back from stress and adversity. Scores 1–5 across three resilience levels. Free for clinical and research use.

What is the Brief Resilience Scale?

The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) was developed by Smith and colleagues (2008) to assess psychological resilience as a distinct construct, the ability to recover from stress, rather than resistance to stress or positive coping. It is the only measure designed specifically to assess this "bouncing back" dimension of resilience.

The BRS consists of 6 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree). Three items are positively worded (1, 3, 5) and three are negatively worded (2, 4, 6). The negatively worded items are reverse-scored before computing the mean. The final score is the average of all 6 items and ranges from 1.00 to 5.00.

The BRS has been validated in clinical and community samples and is free for use in clinical practice and research. It shows strong associations with stress, depression, anxiety, and physical health outcomes, making it a useful complement to depression and anxiety screening in mental health and primary care settings.

Rate each statement on how much you agree or disagree, based on how you generally feel.

For educational reference only. Does not constitute a clinical assessment.

Resilience Score Bands

From Smith et al. (2008). Score is the mean of all 6 items (after reversing items 2, 4, 6).

Track Resilience in HiBoop

Pair BRS with PHQ-9 and GAD-7 for a complete picture of patient wellbeing and treatment response.