Generic Measure of Relationship
A Generic Measure of Relationship Satisfaction Hendrick, Susan S Journal of Marriage and the Family; Feb 1988; 50, 1; ProQuest pg. 93
SUSAN S. HENDRICK Texas Tech University
A Generic Measure of Relationship Satisfaction
The variety of interpersonal relationships in con-temporary society necessitates the development of brief, reliable measures of satisfaction that are ap-plicable to many types of close relationships. This article describes the development of such a measure. In Study I, the 7-item Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) was administered to 125 subjects who reported themselves to be “in love.” Analyses revealed a unifactorial scale structure, substantial factor loadings, and moderate inter-correlations among the items. The scale correlated significantly with measures of love, sexual at-titudes, self-disclosure, commitment, and invest-ment in a relationship. In Study II, the scale was administered to 57 couples in ongoing relation-ships. Analyses supported a single factor, alpha reliability of .86, and correlations with relevant relationship measures. The scale correlated .80 with a longer criterion measure, the Dyadic Ad-justment Scale (Spanier, 1976), and both scales were effective (with a subsample) in discriminat-ing couples who stayed together from couples who broke up. The RAS is a brief, psycho-metrically sound, generic measure of relationship satisfaction.
The study of close interpersonal relationships has increased in recent years and with it has come the proliferation of approaches to relationship assess-ment. Such approaches include behavioral self-report, observational, and behavioral methods (Olson, 1977), but general self-report techniques
Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409.
have been among the most popular. Although a number of problems with self-report research have been noted, it remains a useful research ap-proach (Harvey, Christensen, and McClintock, 1983). Relationship satisfaction is one of the major established areas of relationship assessment, with numerous measures to assess feelings, thoughts, or behaviors within the marital relationship. The most popular measures include the 15-item Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test (Locke and Wallace, 1959), the 400-item Spouse Observa-tion Checklist (Patterson, 1976), the 280-item Marital Satisfaction Inventory (Snyder, 1979), and the 32-item Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976). Although all of these measures are respected, several are relatively lengthy (and thus sometimes unwieldy both for research and therapy purposes), and all are oriented to marital relationships. That suggests the need for a short, general measure of relationship satisfaction. In a study of 51 married couples, the Marital Assessment Questionnaire, a 5-item measure of marital satisfaction developed by Hendrick (1981), was found to be modestly correlated (.48) with a more established measure, the Marriage Adjustment Inventory (Manson and Lerner, 1962). The Marital Assessment Questionnaire was also positively related to self-disclosure, a primary variable of interest in that study. The present research was designed to widen the focus of the Marital Assessment Questionnaire to romantic relationships in general, to explore the psychometric characteristics of the revised mea-sure, and to provide initial information on the scale’s validity and potential utility.
Journal of Marriage and the Family 50 (February 1988): 93-98 93
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Relationship Measurement in General
A Measure of Relationship Satisfaction That Isn’t Specific Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, Susan S
Texas Tech University’s SUSAN S. HENDRICK
A Measure of Relationship Satisfaction That Isn’t Specific
The wide range of interpersonal interactions in today’s culture needs the creation of quick, dependable measures of satisfaction that may be applied to a wide range of close relationships. The creation of such a measure is described in this article. The 7-item Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) was administered to 125 people who said they were “in love” in Study I. Analyses revealed a unifactorial scale structure, substantial factor loadings, and moderate inter-correlations among the items. Love, sexual attitudes, self-disclosure, commitment, and investment in a relationship all had strong correlations with the scale.
