Psychometric Validation of the Portuguese Version of the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire (WFRQ)

Research on family resilience has expanded considerably in recent decades, aiming to understand how families respond to adversity. This study sought to adapt and validate the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire (WFRQ; Walsh, 2003) for the Portuguese population. The WFRQ assesses family resilience across core three domains: belief systems, organizational patterns, and communication/problem Solving. A total of 401 participants (271 women, 127 men) aged 18 to 71 years (M = 38.29, SD = 14.17) completed the WFRQ, a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Family Hardiness Index (FHI), the Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation (SCORE-15), and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original 32-item, three-factor structure (χ²/df = 2.84, CFI = .911, TLI = .904, RMSEA = .068). Internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .97) and test-retest reliability (ICC = .96) were excellent. Strong intercorrelations among WFRQ dimensions (r = .82–.83, p < .001) supported internal validity. Convergent validity was demonstrated through correlations with the FHI, SCORE-15, and BSI-18. Known-groups comparisons revealed significant differences only in the belief systems domain based on the time since the adverse event. Findings support the Portuguese WFRQ version as a psychometrically sound instrument for clinical and research applications.