Brazilian Portuguese Resonant Leadership Scale shows validity evidence in two-hospital sample of São Paulo nurses

A two-phase validity study reported content-validity evidence and adequate internal-structure evidence for a Brazilian Portuguese adaptation of the Resonant Leadership Scale among nurses recruited from two hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil. The study abstract says the findings apply to the 287 nurses included in the internal-structure analysis; it does not establish performance in other Brazilian states, hospitals or nursing populations.

The first phase examined content validity through translation and cultural adaptation. Two translators produced Brazilian Portuguese versions, which were synthesized by a committee of five nurses experienced in leadership and instrument adaptation. Two different translators then back-translated the Portuguese version into English, and a consensus was reached on the back-translations. A second committee of seven self-declared English-speaking nurses with leadership expertise assessed the final Portuguese version, with consensus based on a content validity index above 80%. The instrument was then pretested with 20 nurses. Five statements were changed to use more appropriate Brazilian Portuguese terms for semantic and idiomatic equivalence, while no additional adjustments were needed during the pretest.

The second phase assessed the scale’s internal structure using data from 287 nurses at the two São Paulo hospitals, collected from March through December 2021. The investigators used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to examine dimensionality and factor structure. Robust parallel analysis was implemented through optimal implementation of parallel analysis with minimum rank factor analysis, and factors were extracted with the robust unweighted least squares technique. Dimensionality was tested with the Bayesian Information Criterion and Hull as the model-fit index, using the root mean square error of approximation. Reliability was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, although numerical reliability estimates were not included in the supplied abstract.

Factor loadings were adequate for both forms of the adapted instrument, according to the abstract. The leadership self-assessment questionnaire had loadings ranging from λ = 0.37 to 0.82, while the observed leadership assessment questionnaire had loadings from λ = 0.75 to 0.90. Based on these analyses, the researchers concluded that the Brazilian Portuguese version provided content-validity evidence and adequate internal-structure evidence in the sampled nurses. These are measurement results from a two-hospital validation study rather than evidence of improved leadership, clinical outcomes or the effectiveness of any leadership intervention. The supplied article is presented as an early-access version subject to further edits, and this report summarizes the abstract rather than a full assessment of the study paper.

Subject of Research: Content validity and internal structure of a Brazilian Portuguese Resonant Leadership Scale among nurses in São Paulo

Article Title: Resonant Leadership Scale content validity evidence and internal structure among Brazilian nurses

Article References: Balsanelli, A. P., Dias, B. M., Rebustini, F., Cummings, G. G., & Bernardes, A. (2026). Resonant Leadership Scale content validity evidence and internal structure among Brazilian nurses. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05020-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05020-0

Keywords: Resonant Leadership Scale, Brazilian nurses, content validity, internal structure, psychometric validation, factor analysis, instrument adaptation, São Paulo hospitals, Resonant, Leadership, Scale, content