Response to Stressful Experiences Scale BSL

OMB Control #: 1103-XXXX
OMB Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

RSES
August 2012

Response to Stressful
Experiences Scale

ID#

Baseline
Instructions

The following statements describe how some individuals may think, feel, or act during and after the most stressful
events in life. Please indicate by checking the appropriate box how well each of these statements describes you
during and after life's most stressful events.
During and after life's most stessful events, I tend to...

Exactly
like me

Not at all
like me

1. ...take action to fix things.
2. ...not give up trying to solve problems I think I can solve.
3. ...find a way to do what's necessary to carry on.
4. ...pray or meditate.
5. ...face my fears.
6. ...find opportunity for growth.
7. ...calm and comfort myself.
8. ...try to "recharge" myself before I have to face the next challenge.
9. ...see it as a challenge that will make me better.
10. ...look at the problem in a number of ways.
11. ...look for creative solutions to the problem.
12. ...put things in perspective and realize I will have times of joy and times of sadness.
13. ...be good at determining which situations are changeable and which are not.
14. ...find meaning from the experience.
15. ...find strength in the meaning, purpose, or mission of my life.
16. ...know I will bounce back.
17. ...expect that I can handle it.
18. ...learn important and useful life lessons.
19. ...understand that bad things can happen to anyone, not just me.
20. ...lean on my faith in God or a higher power.
21. ...draw upon lessons learned from failures and past mistakes.
22. ...practice ways to handle it better next time.
Johnson, D. C., Polusny, M. A., Erbes, C., King, D., King, L., Litz, B., Schnurr, P., Friedman, M., and Southwick, S. (2008).
The Response to Stressful Experiences Scale (RSES). VA National Center for PTSD.

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