Devereux Adult Resilience Survey (DARS)

Foundational Context

The DARS is rooted in the Devereux Center for Resilient Children’s protective factors framework, which expands on decades of research in resilience science. Rather than focusing on risk or psychopathology, the DARS highlights positive attributes and capacities that help adults manage stress, identify solutions, and maintain healthy relationships. While not published in a peer-reviewed journal, the DARS is supported by extensive applied research and technical materials developed by DCRC.

The four domains—Internal Beliefs, Relationships, Initiative, and Self-Control—represent core competencies associated with adaptive functioning across cultural, social, and occupational contexts. By focusing on strengths, the DARS aligns with positive psychology principles and provides a holistic, affirming assessment experience suited for coaching, prevention, mental health support, and organizational well-being initiatives.

What the Assessment Measures

The DARS evaluates protective resilience factors, focusing on internal capacities and interpersonal resources that help adults navigate stress and challenges.

The four domain categories include:

• Internal Beliefs: Sense of purpose, optimism, confidence, internal motivation
• Relationships: Social support, communication, empathy, connection
• Initiative: Goal-setting, problem-solving, adaptability, persistence
• Self-Control: Emotional regulation, impulse control, stress management

Together, these domains offer a broad view of the strengths that contribute to resilience, well-being, and personal growth.

Interpretation Guidelines

The DARS generates a total resilience score and four subscale scores, each representing levels of protective factors.

Interpretation principles:

• Higher scores reflect stronger resilience capacities and protective factors
• No clinical cutoffs are used; scores are relative and descriptive
• Subscale patterns are often more meaningful than the total score
• Results support discussion about strengths, coping strategies, and areas for growth
• Ideal for collaborative goal-setting and strengths-based interventions

Interpretation Notes:

• The DARS is not designed to identify mental health disorders or risk levels
• Should be paired with additional assessments for individuals experiencing severe distress
• Self-perception and cultural factors influence responses and should be considered
• Changes in scores over time may reflect growth through therapy, coaching, or life experience

Psychometric Properties

Reliability

• Internal consistency across domains reported as strong in DCRC technical materials
• Designed for stability across contexts while still responsive to growth

Validity

• Content validity grounded in resilience and protective factor research
• Construct validity supported by alignment with adult strengths and positive psychology frameworks
• Not formally validated in peer-reviewed journals but widely used in applied resilience programs

Administration Considerations

• Suitable for mental health counseling, coaching, wellness programs, and workplace training
• Works well as part of motivational interviewing or strengths-based interventions
• Can be administered digitally or on paper
• Results lend themselves to collaborative conversation and goal-setting
• Not intended as a diagnostic measure; best used alongside clinical or contextual assessments when appropriate

Limitations

• Lacks peer-reviewed psychometric validation
• Not diagnostic and should not be used to assess risk or clinical severity
• Interpretation depends on self-report accuracy and insight
• Cultural, occupational, or personality factors may influence scores
• Domain boundaries reflect the DCRC framework and may not align with all resilience models