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Measuring Attachment Dimensions in Adolescents: Development and Validation of the Experiences in Close Relationships — Revised — General Short Form

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Ross B. Wilkinson*
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Australia. Ross.Wilkinson@anu.edu.au
*
*ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Dr Ross Wilkinson, Department of Psychology, Building 39, Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia.
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Abstract

The assessment of attachment in adolescence remains problematic, with the most widely used measure, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA; Armsden & Greenberg, 1987), argued to have major short-comings. This article reports two studies examining the psychometric properties of a shortened and modified version of the Experiences in Close Relationships — Revised (ECR-R) (Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000), the Experiences in Close Relationships — Revised — General Short Form (ECR-R-GSF), for the assessment of general relationship attachment anxiety and avoidance in adolescents and young adults. Confirmatory factor analyses in two independent samples of high school and university students (Total N = 1187, 11 to 22 years) demonstrate support for the two-factor model of attachment anxiety and avoidance. The measurement model was supported across data sets and was not significantly different with respect to either age or sex. While the ECR-R-GSF demonstrated appropriate convergent and discriminant validity with the Relationships Questionnaire (RQ (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) it did not converge with specific, parental relationship attachment as assessed by the IPPA. The ECR-R-GSF is argued to be a reliable and psychometrically sound instrument for assessing general attachment dimensions across a wide age range.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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