Development and Validation of the Resilience in Eating Disorders Scale (RED-5)

Abstract

Background: A resilience scale tailored for individuals with eating disorders (EDs) could significantly enhance our understanding and treatment of EDs. Therefore, we developed and psychometrically evaluated a new Resilience in Eating Disorders scale (RED) following COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines.

Method: Informed by prior qualitative interviews, the new RED scale underwent an initial pilot test among patients with EDs (n = 52) and field tests among patients with EDs (n = 169), ED-recovered individuals (n = 61), and a normative sample of the general population (n = 349), all aged between 27.9 and 29.8 years and residing in Spain. In this study, the participants completed the RED scale, Resilience Scale-25 (RS-25), Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), World Health Organisation Quality of Life Scale – Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Data were collected at baseline and after 1 year. Alongside machine learning techniques, exploratory and confirmatory analyses were employed to evaluate the reliability, construct validity, convergent validity, known-groups validity, predictive validity and responsiveness of the RED scale.

Results: The original 52-item version of the RED scale was refined to 44 items following the pilot phase, and ultimately reduced to a 5-item version (RED-5) after field testing and psychometric evaluation. The RED-5 demonstrated strong psychometric properties, with excellent model fit indices (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.03, and Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.99) and acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.71). Additionally, the RED-5 scale effectively predicted quality of life, anxiety, depression, and ED symptomatology over a 1-year period.

Conclusions: The RED-5 is a concise, psychometrically robust scale specifically developed to assess resilience in patients with EDs. It significantly predicts ED symptoms and quality-of-life outcomes, making it a valuable tool for both clinical practice and research. The RED-5 allows for quick administration and easy scoring. It provides mental health professionals with a tool to guide resilience-informed assessment and more personalized treatment planning.