Ist die Erfassung und Beachtung von Resilienz als personbezogener Kontextfaktor in der ambulanten Neurorehabilitation sinnvoll?

Objective: To consider resilience as mental capability of resistance appears to be promising in the context of neurorehabilitation. Resilience can be seen as a contextual factor with impact on the rehabilitative outcome and participation in social life. To measure resilience as a personality trait, the short version the 'resilience scale' (RS-13) by Schumacher et al., for example, is available and shows acceptable-to-good psychometric properties. So far, resilience in the context of neurorehabilitation and application of the 'resilience scale' with neurological patients has rarely been investigated. The aim of the study was to investigate whether from the point of view of psychometric properties the RS-13 is suitable for use in neurological outpatient rehabilitation. Method: The RS-13 was used in 17 neurological outpatient rehabilitation centers within a multi-center longitudinal observational study. The Â-RS-13 was used at the first 2 time-points of measurement, sufficient to answer the research question. Results and conclusions: Overall, present findings from altogether 396 rehabilitants indicate that the RS-13 has acceptable psychometric properties and therefore suitable in the context of neurological outpatient rehabilitation. High statistical associations were found for various context as well as outcome variables. The results suggest use of the full scale to be better than the 2-factorial structure proposed by the test authors. In a goal-oriented use of resources, early determination and consideration of resilience might complement therapy in the rehabilitation process. Since resilience is associated with rehabilitative outcome, therapeutic interventions that target resilience in the sense of building up self-acceptance seem to be promising.