Self-Assessment
Hardiness Scale
How well do you stay engaged, in control, and open to change when life gets stressful? This 18-question assessment measures your psychological hardiness across three research-backed dimensions.
Inspired by 3C hardiness research · Not affiliated with DRS-15 or PVS III-RPsychological hardiness is a pattern of attitudes that shapes how you respond to stress and change. It breaks down into three components:
Commitment
Do you stay engaged when things get hard, or tend to pull away?
Control
Do you focus on what you can influence, or feel powerless?
Challenge
Do you treat change as a chance to learn, or something to avoid?
Your answers stay in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
Research Behind the Hardiness Scale
Psychological hardiness has over 40 years of research behind it. Here is what the science says and how we built this tool.
The hardiness model was developed through research by Suzanne C. Kobasa in the late 1970s and later refined by Salvatore R. Maddi and colleagues. It identifies three attitudes that shape how people appraise and respond to stressful situations:
Commitment
The tendency to stay involved and find meaning in your activities, rather than withdrawing or feeling alienated when things get difficult.
Control
The belief that you can influence outcomes through your own effort and choices, rather than feeling powerless against external forces.
Challenge
Viewing change and setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than as threats to be avoided at all costs.
From the Research
"The combined hardy attitudes of commitment, control, and challenge provide the courage and motivation to turn stressful circumstances from potential disasters into growth opportunities."
Maddi, S.R. (2002). The story of hardiness: Twenty years of theorizing, research, and practice. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 54(3), 175-185.
A 2022 systematic review of hardiness measures (using COSMIN quality frameworks) confirms that these three components are the common core across instruments and populations.
The two most widely used hardiness instruments are the DRS-15 (Dispositional Resilience Scale) and the PVS III-R (Personal Views Survey). Both are copyrighted and require permission or licensing to reproduce.
Why We Adapted
"The DRS-15 items are copyrighted material and may not be reproduced without permission."
Wong, E.M.Y. et al. (2014). Transcultural and psychometric validation of the DRS-15 in Chinese adult women. Quality of Life Research.
Because of these restrictions, we wrote original items aligned to the 3C model and the measurement lessons from published research. Our items are not copied from any copyrighted instrument. This means scores from this tool are not interchangeable with official DRS-15 or PVS III-R scores.
We also broadened the "challenge" facet beyond just "liking novelty." Research has noted that short hardiness scales can under-measure challenge:
Broadening Challenge
"Challenge items [in short forms] focus on variety and novelty [but] may not fully capture the facet's conceptual breadth."
Bartone, P.T. et al. (2022). Development and Validation of an Improved Hardiness Measure. European Journal of Psychological Assessment.
Our challenge items include learning from setbacks, adapting when plans change, and approaching demanding tasks, giving a fuller picture of this facet.
Reference psychometrics from Hystad et al. (2010), Bartone (2007) Psychological Reports.
About This Hardiness Scale
This is a research-inspired self-reflection tool based on the 3C model of hardiness. It is not an official licensed instrument and is not intended for clinical use.
Our items reflect the 3C model (commitment, control, challenge) described in the hardiness literature by Kobasa, Maddi, and Bartone, among others. We do not reproduce copyrighted items from the DRS-15 or PVS III-R. This tool is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Hardiness Institute or any scale developer.
This is a free educational self-reflection tool. It is not a diagnostic instrument, not a substitute for professional evaluation, and does not predict individual health outcomes. Scores represent how strongly you endorse certain attitudes, nothing more.
If you are experiencing significant stress or distress, please reach out to a mental health professional. In a crisis, contact your local emergency services or a crisis helpline.