The Sense of Relatedness scale (24 items) consists of four subscales which reflect comfort with others, trust in
others, perceived access to support by others when in need, and tolerance of differences with others. Higher scores
on this global scale or subscales suggest higher personal resiliency in this developmental system.
The Emotional Reactivity scale, a 20-item scale, differs from the Sense of Mastery and Sense of Relatedness scales,
in that lower scores on the Emotional Reactivity scale are indicative of low reactivity and less risk. On the other
hand, high scores suggest higher reactivity, which is associated with more risk and less personal resiliency. This
scale consists of three related content areas: the Sensitivity subscale assesses the child’s threshold for emotional reac-
tion and the intensity of the reaction, the Recovery subscale describes the length of time required for recovering from
emotional upset, and the Impairment subscale describes the child’s experience of disrupted functioning while upset.
The RSCA Summary Index scores combine information into two scores, which may be unfolded to provide
more detailed information at the global and subscale levels; the Resource and Vulnerability Index scores. The
Index scores were developed based on empirical analyses of RSCA scale score profiles, factor analytic studies
and validity studies ( Prince-Embury, 2006, 2007; Prince-Embury & Courville, 2008a,b ). The Resource Index com-
bines the Sense of Mastery and Sense of Relatedness Scale scores estimating protective factors experienced by the
child. A high Resource Index score indicates that the child experiences protective personal resources. The
Vulnerability Index is designed to estimate the discrepancy between an individual’s personal risk and perceived
available personal resources. Personal vulnerability would be indicated by a high Vulnerability Index score indicat-
ing that students’ personal resources were significantly below their level of emotional reactivity.
Sample
All scores are standardized on age and gender based normative samples ( N5641) that are stratified by race/
ethnicity and parent education level to match the US Census for 2003 ( Prince-Embury, 2007, 2008 ).
Child
A total of 450 children, aged 9 years to 14 years 11 months, were selected from the larger pool of the child
community sample. Cases were eliminated when there was an indication that the child was currently receiving
services for a psychiatric disorder. Cases were not excluded for previous psychiatric services, as this did not
meet partial criteria for inclusion in the clinical sample. A stratified sampling plan ensured that the standardiza-
tion samples included representative proportions of children according to each selected demographic variable.
An analysis of data gathered by the U.S. Bureau of the Census (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2003) provided the
basis for stratification by race/ethnicity and education level within each sex and age group.
Adolescent
A total of 200 children, aged 15 /C018 years, were selected from the larger pool of the adolescent community
sample. Cases were eliminated when there was an indication that the teenager was currently receiving services
for a psychiatric disorder. Cases were not excluded for previous psychiatric service, as this did not meet partial
criteria for inclusion in the clinical sample. A stratified sampling plan ensured that the standardization samples
included representative proportions of children according to each selected demographic variable. An analysis of
data gathered by the U.S. Bureau of the Census (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2002) provided the basis for stratifica-
tion by race/ethnicity and education level within each sex and age group.
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Sense of Mastery Scale Cronbach alpha coefficients for the Sense of Mastery Scale were .85 for youth aged 9 to
11 years ( N5226), .89 for youth aged 12 to 14 years ( N5224) and .95 for youth aged 15 to 18 years ( N5200).
Sense of Relatedness Scale Cronbach alpha coefficients for the Sense of Relatedness scale were .89 for children
aged 9 to 11 years ( N5226), .91 for children aged 12 to 14 years ( N5224) and .95 for youth aged 15 to 18 years
(N5200).
Emotional Reactivity Scale Cronbach alpha coefficients for the Emotional Reactivity scale were .90 for youth
aged 9 to 11 years ( N5226), .91 for youth aged 12 to 14 years ( N5224) and .94 for youth aged 15 /C018 years
(N5200).303 MEASURES REVIEWED HERE
III. EMOTION REGULATION