Step 1
Administer the HARRY-SF.
Have the young person complete the 14-item assessment independently. Read items aloud for younger adolescents or those with reading challenges. Download the HARRY-SF
For Healthcare Professionals
Resilience screening in pediatric and adolescent settings is often limited to deficit-focused instruments, what's wrong, how severe, how often. HARRY-SF offers a different starting point: what is this young person already doing that builds strength? And where are the gaps we can address?
The HARRY-SF is a 14-item, behaviorally grounded measure designed for use as a universal resilience screener in clinical, pediatric, educational, and prevention contexts. It requires no detailed trauma history, takes 5 minutes to administer, and opens a practical, action-oriented conversation with patients and families.
Clinical Overview
What HARRY-SF Measures
HARRY-SF measures engagement in six categories of resilience-supportive behaviors (the CREATE framework). It produces a single composite score rather than subscales, a deliberate design choice supported by factor analysis confirming a unified underlying resilience construct.
The instrument is behaviorally anchored, which distinguishes it from trait-based resilience scales. Rather than measuring how resilient a young person feels, it measures what they actually do, a more actionable clinical target.
Psychometric Properties
- N = 128 adolescents, ages 11–18, diverse racial backgrounds
- Internal consistency: ordinal ω = .86
- One-factor structure confirmed via exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis
- Measurement invariance supported across male and female youth
- Incremental validity: HARRY-SF predicts hope beyond established resilience scales (RS-14)
- Mediation: HARRY-SF → Hope → ↓Emotional Distress (full mediation pattern)
- Moderated mediation: protective pathway holds across varying levels of trauma severity
Appropriate Use Contexts
- Universal resilience screening (pediatric well-visits, school-based health, community mental health)
- Strength-based service planning (residential care, foster care, child welfare)
- Prevention and early intervention programs
- Outcome monitoring in behavioral health settings
- Parent and family psychoeducation
Clinical Implementation: Step by Step
Step 2
Review results with the patient.
Rather than leading with gaps, start with strengths: "I can see you're doing a lot of activities in this area, that's great. Let's look at where there might be opportunities."
Step 3
Give clear rationale (the clinical "kid reason").
Explain the mechanism in accessible terms: "Research shows that when young people regularly do activities in all six of these areas, their ability to handle stress improves. And hope actually goes up. That hope is what helps protect against anxiety and depression."
Step 4
Build a CREATE plan.
Work with the patient and family to identify 1–2 activities per CREATE category. Document the plan and build follow-up into the next appointment.Download the CREATE Plan Template
Step 5
Connect to existing supports.
HARRY-SF integrates naturally with SODAS problem-solving (the THINK dimension), coping skill development (RENEW and EXPRESS), and social skills training (CONNECT). Reference relevant Boys Town resources for families to use between appointments.
Step 6
Reassess at follow-up.
HARRY-SF is designed for repeated use. Reassess at the next visit to track whether engagement in resilience-supportive behaviors has changed. Use shifts in scores as a conversation starting point, not a clinical judgment endpoint.
Connecting to Boys Town's Broader Framework
For patients and families receiving other Boys Town services, CREATE with HARRY integrates directly with:
- SODAS Problem-Solving — supports the THINK dimension and teaches structured decision-making
- Coping Skills — expands the RENEW and EXPRESS dimensions with clinically validated strategies
- Social Skills Training — strengthens the CONNECT dimension through explicit skill teaching and practice
About the Research
HARRY was built on a peer-reviewed study and subsequent research. See the What is CREATE with HARRY? section for full summaries, or download the original publications below.
Learn more about the development of CREATE with HARRY.
Research StudyAbout Boys Town Research
CREATE with HARRY is one product of a decades-long commitment to evidence-based practice at Boys Town, an organization with a 100-year history of serving vulnerable children and families.
The Child and Family Translational Research Center
The Child and Family Translational Research Center (CFTRC) at Boys Town National Research Hospital conducts applied, translational research designed to move findings directly from the lab into clinical and educational practice. The CFTRC's work spans trauma, resilience, social-emotional development, educational outcomes, and behavioral health, always with a focus on diverse populations and real-world applicability.
The HARRY research is a product of the CFTRC. Lead researcher Dr. Patrick M. Tyler, PhD, LIMHP, LPC, has published extensively on youth trauma, resilience, and the psychometrics of assessment tools designed for high-need populations.
A Track Record of Practice-Relevant Science
Boys Town's research foundation extends well beyond CREATE with HARRY. The Boys Town Model, a research-validated framework for teaching social skills and building positive youth development, has been disseminated in schools, residential settings, and clinical environments for over 50 years. Boys Town's approach to skill building, relationship development, and behavior support is among the most extensively studied in the youth-serving field.
The SODAS Problem-Solving Method, Boys Town's coping skills framework, and the Family Home Program model all carry substantial research support. CREATE with HARRY is the newest addition to this ecosystem, extending Boys Town's strength-based approach into universal resilience screening and personalized activity planning.