BRAVE

How to Use

Using the BRAVE

The BRAVE is a brief self-report measure that can be typically completed in under 5 minutes.

Responses to items are made on a five-point Likert scale, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Scores are calculated by summing the point values of the responses from a participant. Higher scores indicate greater levels of characteristics associated with resilience to violent extremism.

In addition to an overall score, five subscale scores can also be calculated:

  • •  cultural identity and connectedness,
  • •  bridging capital,
  • •  linking capital,
  •   violence-related behaviours,
  • •  and violent-related beliefs.

For further information on administration and scoring, please refer to the manual for the measure which can be accessed through this site.

Contextualising the measure

Before implementing the BRAVE, we strongly advise that you consider how the measure can be adapted to your particular context.

For example, we recommend holding meetings with selected members of the community in which the research is being conducted. A Local Advisory Committee (LAC) can provide valuable input, such as suggestions on contextually relevant ways of conducting the study, ensuring that items are phrased in a way that makes sense to participants, and helping to develop additional site-specific items to add to the BRAVE.

Members of a LAC can also comment on findings and help ensure that interpretations of the data are made meaningful in terms of local context. It works well to consult with a group of about five local key informants who have something important to say about the people in their community. The group could include youth, professionals, service providers and/or elders.

Sessions with your LAC can provide useful directions to assist with the implementation and interpretation of the BRAVE, but can also provide qualitative data on the topic of resilience to violent extremism in your research setting.

We have provided an in-depth guide to contextualising the measure in the manual. Please use the contact details provided to get in touch.

Still have questions? Visit our FAQ Page to find answers

Psychometric properties

The study by Grossman et al (2020) determined that the BRAVE has good content validity (face validity and construct validity), convergent validity, and internal reliability (α) = .76. For more information on the psychometric properties of the measure, please see the manual.

Studies that have used BRAVE

AuthorsLocationSampleAge (years)Sample characteristicsItems in final measureBRAVE total score [Baseline Mean (SD)]Purpose of study

Lamphere-Englund, G., Hamonangan, A., and Putri, F. (2023)

Bandung, IndonesiaN=1,210Undergraduate university students (Apx. 18-24)Undergraduate university students32-items (includes additional measure)95.79 (9.25) [note additional content]To understand the resilience of university students to violent extremism in Indonesia and to inform future interventions.

Eltayeb et al. (2022)

Jordan, Saudia Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, EgyptN=60418-35-14Not reportedTo validate the measure in Arabic contexts.
ALPS Resilience (2019)Tanzania and MozambiqueN=88215-35-14Mozambican sample: 54.35
Tanzanian sample: 56.40
To discover more about the risk of violent extremism in the eastern region of Southern Africa
Grossman, Hadfield, Jefferies, Gerrand, & Ungar (2020)Australia and Canada

N=475

18-30-14Australian sample: 53.04 (6.46)
Canadian sample: 51.13 (7.26)
Development of the BRAVE measure

The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF; 2020)

Bangladesh

N=2,496

18-29University students13+540.13 (4.87)To test whether the BRAVE measure can be used in Bangladesh.

Jailobaeva, Latipova, Jailobaev, Cholponbaeva, Asilbekova, Sharshenaly, Kolsarieva, & Baialieva (2020)

Kyrgyzstan

N=589

14-19School students

20

Non-pilot schools: 70.12 (6.85)
Pilot schools: 70.72 (6.82)
Residential inst.: 71.32 (5.77)
Investigating the role of schools and residential institutions in building the resilience of adolescents to radicalisation and violent extremism in Kyrgyzstan

Bayad (2021)

Germany

N=166

21.4-36.6Turkish migrant background

14

Condition A: 52.60
Condition B: 57.90*
Thesis entitled: Between Rejection and Coping: The Consolidation of Turkish Identity in Germany

Dukic, Hulse, & Hooton (2021)

Kumanovo, North Macedonia

N=1,052

15+-

14

53.49Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) Strong Cities Network project, to explore community resilience

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP; 2022)

Five countries

TBA

TBATBA

TBA

TBATo develop public perception surveys used to inform UN investments in prevention of violent extremism (PVE) at global and regional level, as well as the government policies and plans to prevent and respond to the drivers of radicalization at national and local levels.

Đorđić (unpublished)

Vojvodina, Serbia

N=436

15-30-

14

40.28 (6.50)Exploring violent extremism among youth

Countering Violent Extremism Unit, Youth Justice New South Wales

New South Wales, Australia

Ongoing

18Individuals in custody for terrorism-related offences

14

-Included as a battery of assessment tools to understand aspects of personality, offending behaviours (including violence), cognitive skills, and extremist violence