Psychometric Concerns with the Ego-Resilience Scales in South Africa: Evidence from Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory

The dimensionality of the Ego-Resilience Scale (ER89) remains contested, and little is known about the performance of the original and revised versions of the scale in South Africa. This study examined the psychometric properties of the 14-item ER89 and the 10-item ER89-R in 337 undergraduate students from a university in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Participants completed the ER89, the Sense of Coherence Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The scales were evaluated using classical test theory, confirmatory factor analysis, bifactor modeling, parallel analysis, Mokken scale analysis, and Rasch analysis. For both versions, bifactor models fit better than one-factor models, but the specific factors showed anomalous loadings and accounted for little reliable variance. Parallel analysis and Rasch analysis supported an essentially unidimensional interpretation of both instruments. Although both versions showed acceptable internal consistency and expected associations with sense of coherence, depression, and anxiety, several findings raised concerns about their broader psychometric adequacy. Overall, both scales appeared to reflect a broad general factor of ego-resilience, but their performance in this context was mixed and, in important respects, problematic. Further refinement and validation are needed before either instrument can be recommended for confident use in South African research and practice.