Validation and application of the Chinese version of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) among parents of children with cancer diagnosis.

PURPOSE: Parents of children diagnosed with cancer often experience considerable emotional distress for their children with negative emotions, such as disbelief, depression, anxiety, hope and shock. Resilience is defined as the psychological characteristics that promote positive adaptation in the face of stress and adversity, which has been demonstrated to relate to positive coping and less psychological distress. Thus, a quick screening tool to evaluate the levels of resilience of parents with cancer-diagnosed children is urgently required.

METHODS: The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to evaluate the CD-RISC-10 using a sample size of 500 parents. Velicer's Minimum Average Partial (MAP) Test and a parallel analysis were also supplemented to confirm the EFA-derived structure of the scale. The participants were given the 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire (MCMQ) to test the associates with CD-RISC-10 and obtain the cut-off of the scale.

RESULTS: The Chinese version of CD-RISC-10 has good psychometric properties and retains its single dimension in the original English version, which can explain 49.602% of the total variance. The CFA demonstrates the fit indices of a one-order model: Chi-Square = 39.987, CMIN/DF = 1.333, P < 0.001, TLI = 0.914, CFI = 0.981, GFI = 0.962, NFI = 0.926, IFI = 0.979, RFI = 0.889, RMR = 0.042, and RMSEA = 0.041. The CD-RISC presents statistical associations with other scales, and the cut-off is 25.5.

CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of the CD-RISC-10, which is reliable, valid and easy to use, is suitable for clinical settings. The CD-RISC-10 enables a quick understanding of the level of resilience of the parents when their children undergo treatment, which can be the most important indicator to their psychological health.