A measure for assessment of beneficial and harmful fortitude: Development and initial validation of the Sisu Scale

Sisu is a Finnish cultural construct that denotes determination and resoluteness in the face of adversity. Proposed to supplement the research on fortitude traits that has been based exclusively on the English language, the concept has not been the focus of systematic research until very recently. We sought to validate the sisu construct and its sub-factor structure as postulated in a recent qualitative study, to investigate its relationship with pre-existing measures of fortitude as well as with well-being, and more generally to generate a more culturally rich conversation concerning the human experience of overcoming adversity across life’s challenges.We describe and validate a questionnaire that effectively measures both beneficial and harmful sisu, each comprising three sub-factors. Beneficial sisu is associated with other measures of fortitude, but less with personality dimensions. We also confirmed the existence of an independent harmful sisu factor. Beneficial sisu was associated with higher well-being and lower depressive symptoms, and harmful sisu with lower well-being and higher levels of stress, work stress and depressive symptoms. Together the two factors improved the variance explained over pre-existing measures. Results suggest that Sisu Scale may provide a valuable addition to research on mental fortitude, resilience and their consequences for well-being.