An analysis of resilience in dental students using the Resilience Scale for Adults.

Dental students demonstrated relatively high levels of resilience. Resilience was significantly associated with gender (with females showing more resilience than males (P = 0.0395)), race (P = 0.0025), overall health (P = 0.0101), and mental health (P < 0.0001). Results from Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) supported a 5-factor solution that explained 82.6% of the variability of resilience in the sample of dental students. The 5 factors were nearly identical to the 5 subscales originally described by the RSA demonstrating validity in this population. Overall health ratings were significantly related to resilience, suggesting that perceived resilience in dental students may protect against negative health outcomes. This study can inform internal and external support systems of dental students as well as institutional programmatic development to better support their educational experiences.