Development and validation of the academic resilience inventory for nursing students in Taiwan

Background: Failure to cope with learning pressures has been shown to influence the learning achievement and professional performance of nursing students. In order to enable nursing students to adapt successfully to their academic stress, it is essential to explore their academic resilience in the process of learning. Purpose: To develop the Academic Resilience Inventory for Nursing Students (ARINS) and to test its reliability and validity. Methods: A total of 611 nursing students in central and southern Taiwan were recruited as participants. We divided the sample into two subsamples randomly using R software. The first sample was used to conduct item analysis and exploratory factor analysis. The other sample was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis, cross validation, and criterion-related validity. Results: There are 15 items in the ARINS, with cognitive maturity, emotional regulation, and help-seeking behavior used as the measurement indicators of academic resilience in nursing students. The assessed goodness-of-fit index indicates that the model fit the data well based upon the CFA and has good convergent validity and discriminant validity. Criterion-related validity was supported by the correlation among ARINS, learning performance and attitude, hope and optimistic, and depression. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: The ARINS has good reliability and validation and is a suitable measure of academic resilience in nursing students. It is helpful for nursing students to examine their academic stress and coping efficacy in the learning process.