New resilience instrument for family caregivers in cancer: a multidimensional item response theory analysis

Objective: Resilience instruments specific to family caregivers (FCs) in cancer are limited. This study was designed to validate the 10-item Resilience Scale Specific to Cancer (RS-SC-10) in FCs using multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) analysis. Methods: 382 FCs were enrolled from Be Resilient to Cancer Program (BRCP) and administered with RS-SC-10 and 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). MIRT was performed to evaluate item parameters while Generalized Additive Model (GAM) and Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) were performed to test the non-linear relationship between resilience (RS-SC-10) and Quality of Life (QoL, SF-36). Results: RS-SC-10 retained 10 items with high multidimensional discrimination, monotonous thresholds and its original two-factor structure (Generic and Shift-Persist). Four latent resilience subgroups were identified and a non-linear dose–response pattern between resilience and QoL was confirmed (per-SD increase OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.16–2.13, p = 0.0019). Conclusion: RS-SC-10 is a brief and suitable resilience instrument for FCs in cancer. The resilience screening of patients and FCs can be performed simultaneously in clinical practice.