Article
The Experiences in Close Relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire: A Method for Assessing Attachment Orientations Across Relationships
Psychological Assessment
(2011)
Abstract
Most research on adult attachment is based on the assumption that working models are relatively general and trait-like. Recent research, however, suggests that people develop attachment representations that are relationship-specific, leading people to hold distinct working models in different relationships. The authors report a measure, the Relationship Structures questionnaire of the Experiences in Close Relationships— Revised (ECR-RS; R. C. Fraley, N. G. Waller, & K. A. Brennan, 2000), that is designed to assess attachment dimensions in multiple contexts. Based on a sample of over 21,000 individuals studied online, it is shown that ECR-RS scores are reliable and have a structure similar to those produced by other measures. In Study 2 (N=388), it is shown that relationship-specific measures of attachment generally predict intra- and interpersonal outcomes better than broader attachment measures but that broader measures predict personality traits better than relationship-specific measures. Moreover, it is demonstrated that differentiation in working models is not related to psychological outcomes independently of mean levels of security.
Keywords
- Adult attachment,
- close relationships,
- measurement,
- relationships,
- personality
Disciplines
Publication Date
2011
Publisher Statement
Psychological Assessment is published by the American Psychological Association, http://www.apa.org/.
Citation Information
Amanda M. Vicary, R. Chris Fraley, Claudia Chloe Brumbaugh and Marie E. Heffernan. "The Experiences in Close Relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire: A Method for Assessing Attachment Orientations Across Relationships" Psychological Assessment Vol. 23 Iss. 3 (2011) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/amanda_vicary/3/