Table 3 Brief description of validity measures used in the study

201

This scale covers three main categories of resilience; dispositional attributes, family cohesion/warmth and external support systems, all of which contain various sub scales within each category. All items have an individual 5-point Likert scale which is specific to each individual item.

203

A 12-item self-report inventory that measures perceived social support from family, friends, and a significant other. Respondents use a 7-point Likert-type scale (very strongly disagree to very strongly agree) and scores are given for each of the three subscales as well as a total score.

199

A 28-item self-report measure of both adaptive and maladaptive coping skills, consisting of 14 subscales, comprised of two items each. A 4-point Likert scale is used, whereby a higher score indicates greater coping strategies.

201

Using a 6-point Likert scale from definitely disagree to definitely agree, this nine item, self-report instrument yields a single scale score for personal growth initiative (PGI), where a higher score indicates higher PGI.

172

A 16-item self-report measure designed to assess ordinary experiences of connection with the transcendent in daily life, which uses a modified 6-point Likert scale. Lower scores indicate less daily spirituality experience.

195

This 7-item uni-dimensional, self completed instrument measures positive mental well-being, where scores range from seven to 35 and higher scores indicate higher positive mental wellbeing.

202

This 5-item instrument measures global cognitive judgments of satisfaction with one's life, using a 7-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Scores are summed and higher scores indicate higher satisfaction.

404

This single item asks respondents to rate their happiness, in general on a 7-point scale, where 1 = Not a very happy person and 7 = A very happy person.

404

This single item asks respondents to rate their health, in general on a 5-point scale from poor to excellent.

190

A self-completed measure of health status comprising of a descriptive system which includes five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/ discomfort and anxiety/ depression) and a visual self-rated health scale.

190

This instrument assesses perceived sense of well-being, via four items relating to 1) self-rated health, 2) physical health, 3) mental health and 4) limitations to usual activity due to physical or mental health, during the past 30 days. Respondents indicate the number of unhealthy days, where the maximum is 30 days.

200

A self-administered depression scale that adopts a 4-point scale, where 0 = not at all and 3 = nearly everyday, respondents indicate how often they have been bothered by each of the items, in the past two weeks. Total scores range from 0 to 27, where scores of 20 and above indicate severe major depressive disorder.

190

A 7-item anxiety measure, where respondents are asked in the past two weeks how often they have been bothered by the following problems and use a 4-point scale from 'not at all' to 'nearly every day'. Scores are summed and higher score indicate greater anxiety.

201

A self report tool which assesses functional impairment via three inter-related domains; work/school, social and family life, using a 10-point visual analog scale. Scores are summed, whereby higher scores indicate higher impairment.