Spanish Journal of Psychology (2014), 17, e34, 1–9. © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid doi:10.1017/sjp.2014.35 Most people have to face adverse situations during their lifetime experiencing negative emotions of great intensity such as anxiety, depression, suffering or guilt (e.g., Cardenal, Ortiz-Tallo, Martín Frías, & Martínez Lozano, 2008; Limonero, Tomás-Sábado, Fernández- Castro, Gómez-Romero, & Aradilla-Herrero, 2012; Sojo & Guarino, 2011). In many cases, the intensity of these emotions gradually decrease with time by adapting to the new reality such as may happen with the loss of a loved one (Limonero & Gómez-Romero, 2012), whereas in other cases the traumatic experi- ence can be so intense that its sequelae can be with them for the rest of their lives (Echeburúa & Corral, 2007; Echeburúa, Corral, & Amor, 2002). At the other extreme, there are people whose traumatic experience leads to personal growth that allows their lives to acquire a new direction, and they are able to confront the new reality with a greater guarantee of success (Vázquez, Castilla, & Hervás, 2009). It is in this context of overcoming adversities where the construct of resilience emerges. Resilience is that capacity to get over the adversity, to recover and come out stronger, despite being exposed to a highly stressing psychosocial event (Forés & Granés, 2008; Rutter, 1999). Manciaux, Vanistendael, Lecomte, and Cyrulnik (2003) highlight the ability of a person or a group to continue planning for the future despite destabilizing events and traumatic situations, whereas Bonanno et al. (2002) state that resilience should include two aspects: coping with the event and getting over it. According to Luthar and Cicchetti (2000), resilience can be conceptualized as a dynamic process where individuals adapt positively despite the adversity or trauma that they experience. Resilient coping involves a form of confronting adversity that encourages the use of cognitive and behavioral strategies (Sinclair & Wallston, 2004). According to these authors, people with a resilient confrontation pattern will tend to use a cognitive re-assessment of the situation and the active solution of problems more often. There has been an increased growth in the scientific study of resilience in the last ten years or so, that has been in parallel with construction of various measurement scales (Ahern, Evidence for Validity of the Brief Resilient Coping Scale in a Young Spanish Sample Joaquín T. Limonero 1 , Joaquín Tomás-Sábado 1 , Maria José Gómez-Romero 2 , Jorge Maté-Méndez 3 , Vaughn G. Sinclair 4 , Kenneth A. Wallston 4 and Juana Gómez-Benito 5 1 Escuela de Enfermería Gimbernat (Spain) 2 EGARSAT (Spain) 3 Hospital Duran i Reynals (Spain) 4 Vanderbilt University (USA) 5 Universidad de Barcelona (Spain) Abstract. The aim of the present study was to provide evidence of validity of the Brief Resilient Coping Scale for use in Spanish young population. A total of 365 university students responded to the Spanish version of the BRCS as well as to other tools for measuring personal perceived competence, life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, negative and positive affect, and coping strategies. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the unidimensional structure of the scale. Internal consistency reliability and temporal stability through Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest correlations, respectively, were comparable to those found in the initial validation of the tool. The BRCS showed positive and significant correlations with personal perceived competence, optimism, life satisfaction, positive affect (p < .01), and some coping strategies (p < .05). Significant negative correlations were observed with depression, anxiety and negative affect. (p < .01). Multiple regression analysis with stepwise method showed that positive affect, negative affect, optimism and problem solving explained 41.8% of the variance of the BRCS (p < .001). The Spanish adaptation of the BRCS in a young population is satisfactory and comparable to those of the original version and with the Spanish version adapted in an elderly population. This supports its validity as a tool for the assessment of resilient coping tendencies in young people who speak Spanish and offers researchers and professionals interested in this area of study a simple tool for assessing it. Received 25 January 2013; Revised 10 June 2013; Accepted 13 September 2013 Keywords: Brief Resilient Coping Scale, validity, reliability, young. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Joaquín T. Limonero. Stress and Health Research Group (GIES). Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Campus Universitari s/n, 08193 Bellaterra. Barcelona, (Spain). Phone: +34–935813176. Fax: +34–935813329. E-mail: joaquin.limonero@uab.cat