Devereux Adult Resilience Survey (DARS)

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The DARS is a 23-item self-reflection tool designed to help adults recognize their personal strengths related to resilience. Rather than serving as a diagnostic or clinical assessment, the tool promotes self-awareness and growth in areas such as relationships, self-control, and emotional insight.

Recommended Frequency: Use during intake, in coaching or wellness contexts, or to support recovery- and strengths-focused treatment planning. Reassess every 3–6 months if used as part of ongoing therapeutic reflection.

About the DARS

Developed by the Devereux Center for Resilient Children, the DARS was created to help adults explore 23 protective factors related to personal resilience. It aligns with a strengths-based philosophy and is often used in educational, community mental health, and recovery settings.

The tool is intended for use with adults of all ages and can be completed as a self-assessment or with the support of a facilitator.

It is not diagnostic and is best used to prompt discussion, reflection, and goal setting.

Psychometric Properties

As of publication, the DARS is not a standardized or normed psychometric instrument. It is a self-reflection tool rather than a diagnostic screener, and therefore does not report on internal consistency, predictive validity, or factor structure.

That said, it was developed with input from experts in resilience, and its framework reflects current literature on protective factors and adult wellbeing.

Source: Devereux Center for Resilient Children

The Scale

The DARS includes 23 statements grouped into six protective factor categories:

  1. Relationships
  2. Internal Beliefs
  3. Initiative
  4. Self-Control
  5. Social Awareness
  6. Emotional Insight

Respondents indicate whether each item is “Not Yet Like Me,” “Sometimes Like Me,” or “Mostly Like Me.” The goal is not to generate a score but to reflect on areas of strength and opportunities for growth.

Score Range

No formal scoring or cutoffs are used. Items are grouped by domain to encourage insight and guide resilience-building goals. Results are often used as a conversation starter in coaching, peer support, or therapeutic contexts.

Copyright

© Devereux Center for Resilient Children. All rights reserved.

References

  1. Devereux Center for Resilient Children. (n.d.). Devereux Adult Resilience Survey (DARS). https://centerforresilientchildren.org/adults/assessments-resources/
  2. Mackrain, M., & Cairone, K. (2005). Building Your Bounce: Simple Strategies for a Resilient You. Devereux Center for Resilient Children.

Disclaimer

This summary is for informational purposes only. This tool is designed for self-reflection and education, not for clinical diagnosis. HiBoop does not interpret results or use the DARS for risk assessment or treatment evaluation.

Permissions

The DARS is available for non-commercial use with attribution. Reproduction or adaptation for distribution requires written permission from the Devereux Center for Resilient Children.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does the DARS measure behaviours related to resilience?

    Yes, previously published research shows that the CD-RISC does measure behaviour related to

    resilience. This study shows that scores on the DARS are similar to scores on the CD-RISC 3. 4. 5. (Spearman rho=.582, p=.000). Therefore, this study supports that the two scales measure similar behaviours related to resilience.

  • Do specific scales on the DARS correlate with specific factors (scales) on the CD-RISC?

    No, all of the DARS scales (relationships, internal beliefs, initiative, self-control) correlate the highest with CD-RISC’s factor 4 which relates to a sense of control. However, there is a slightly lower, but significant correlation between many of the CD-RISC factors and DARS scales.

    These other factors are personal competence, intuition and coping with stress, secure relationships, and spiritual influences. These results show that in general, the two scales correlate with each other.

  • Is the DARS a reliable measure?

    One important aspect of reliability is internal consistency. This is a measure of the degree to which the items on a scale like the DARS measure the same concept. The DARS has high internal consistency. (Cronbach’s alpha for the full scale was α=.762).

  • Did the above statistical analyses differ for men and women?

    No, when the analyses were done with only women, the internal consistency scores and other correlations did not change significantly. In addition, the average scores for males (MDARS=39.4, sDARS=4.2, MCDRISC=79.2, sCDRISC=11.2) and females (MDARS=39.7, sDARS=4.1, MCDRISC=78.5, sCDRISC=11.0) were very similar for both assessments and did not differ significantly (tDARS(719)=-.561, pDARS=.58, tCDRISC (719)=.602, pCDRISC=.55 ).

  • Why should we use a tool like the DARS?

    The purpose of the DARS is for adults to be able to reflect on their own lives—it is a simple way to become aware of personal strengths and areas of need. It is also especially geared toward those who work in the early childhood field, including Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Program (DECA), the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Program for Infants and toddlers (DECA-I/T) and the Devereux School Age Assessment (DESSA) users. The DARS has a companion guide titled, Bouncing Back: Simple Strategies for a Resilient You, which helps adults develop the strengths that the DARS identifies.