American Behavioral Scientist
2015, Vol. 59(2) 181–199
© 2014 SAGE Publications
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DOI: 10.1177/0002764214550295
abs.sagepub.com
Community Resilience Assessment and Intervention
Assessing Community
Resilience: An Application
of the Expanded CART
Survey Instrument With
Affiliated Volunteer
Responders
Rose L. Pfefferbaum
1
, Betty Pfefferbaum
2
,
Pascal Nitiéma
2
, J. Brian Houston
3
,
and Richard L. Van Horn
2
Abstract
This article describes an application of the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit
Assessment Survey using a sample of affiliated volunteer responders. The Communities
Advancing Resilience Toolkit Assessment Survey is a theory-based, evidence-informed
instrument. Early applications of the survey identified four domains: Connection and
Caring, Resources, Transformative Potential, and Disaster Management. The version
of the instrument used in the current application added items related to Information
and Communication, thus creating a fifth domain. The application confirmed the five-
factor model and the instrument demonstrated good reliability. Affiliated volunteer
responders served as key informants regarding community resilience because of their
involvement in local disaster readiness and response. Home ownership and active
membership in an affiliated volunteer responder group were associated with the
total community resilience score and with multiple domain scores, suggesting the
importance of community member investment and engagement for a community’s
resilience. Although the study sample involved affiliated volunteer responders, it is
likely that engagement in other community organizations and activities may yield
similar benefits for resilience.
1
Phoenix Community College, Phoenix, AZ, USA
2
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
3
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Corresponding Author:
Betty Pfefferbaum, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, University of
Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P.O. Box 26901, WP3217, Oklahoma City, OK 73126-0901, USA.
Email: betty-pfefferbaum@ouhsc.edu
550295ABS XX X 10.1177/0002764214550295American Behavioral ScientistPfefferbaum et al.
research-article 2014