Psychometric Properties of a New Clinical Practice-Based Scale of Resilience Capacities in Chilean Adolescents

IntroductionResilience in adolescence has been widely studied, yet most instruments used to assess it were created in Anglo-Saxon contexts and often lack cultural resonance in Latin America. This study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the VOLANTÍN Resilience Capabilities Scale, a Chilean instrument designed to capture culturally meaningful expressions of resilience in school settings.MethodA total of 3,934 students aged 10-18 from public schools in Chile completed the scale and an established mental health screening measure. The sample was randomly divided to conduct exploratory and confirmatory analyses using methods appropriate for ordinal data and systematic criteria for refining items.ResultsThe analyses supported a coherent 19-item structure with four dimensions (Self-esteem, Prosocial Behavior, Perseverance, and Emotional Regulation) explaining 51.7% of the variance. Items with unstable patterns were removed. The confirmatory analysis showed strong overall fit (CFI = .953; TLI = .946; RMSEA = .058; SRMR = .055) and supported a hierarchical model with an overarching resilience factor.DiscussionThe VOLANTÍN Scale emerges as a culturally grounded, concise, and psychometrically robust measure of adolescent resilience in Chile. Its properties make it suitable for school-based screening, applied research, and interventions that require contextually sensitive assessments.