Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T03:48:22.109Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Experiences in Close Relationships — Revised — General Short Form (ECR-R-GSF) in an Australian and a Chinese Sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2019

Jichun Hao Open the ORCID record for Jichun Hao [Opens in a new window] ,
Raymond C.K. Chan  and
Ross B. Wilkinson
Jichun Hao
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
Raymond C.K. Chan
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China Department of Psychology, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Ross B. Wilkinson*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Ross Wilkinson, Behavioural Sciences Building, School of Psychology, The University of Newcastle, 130 University Dr, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Attachment dimensions refer to how interpersonal emotion regulation strategies are utilised and have a profound impact in adulthood. Its measurement has attracted a large amount of research attention. The Experiences in Close Relationships — Revised (ECR-R) Questionnaire is one of the most widely used and researched self-report questionnaires to measure romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance in multiple language groups, despite inconsistent evidence regarding its factorial structure. The 20-item Experiences in Close Relationships — Revised — General Short Form (ECR-R-GSF) was developed based on the ECR-R to measure attachment experiences in all relationships (not just romantic ones) in an English-speaking sample. However, no short form of the ECR-R is available for the Chinese population. In order to cross-validate the first Chinese version of the ECR-R-GSF, specifically the proposed two-factor structure, against the English version, an Australian university student sample (n = 426) and a Chinese university student sample from China (n = 626) were recruited. The Anxiety and Avoidance scales were found to have good internal reliability in both samples. However, the proposed two-factor model only provided an acceptable fit even after adding modifications in the Australian sample, and the fit was not satisfactory in the Chinese sample. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that partial metric but not scalar invariance was achieved across cultures. Implications for relationship and cross-cultural research and practice were discussed.

Keywords

attachment anxietyattachment avoidanceExperience in Close Relationship — Revised (ECR-R)cross-culturalfactorial structuremeasurement invarianceChineseshort form
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 10 , 2019 , e11
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M.C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Oxford, England: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Aluja, A., Rolland, J.P., García, L.F., & Rossier, J. (2007). Dimensionality of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and its relationships with the three-and the five-factor personality models. Journal of Personality Assessment, 88, 246–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890701268116Google Scholar
Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L.M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244.Google Scholar
Bentler, P.M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246.Google Scholar
Berry, J.W. (1969). On cross-cultural comparability. International Journal of Psychology, 4, 119–128.Google Scholar
Bond, M.H. (1993). Emotions and their expression in Chinese culture. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 17, 245–262.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss (vol. 1: Attachment). New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss (vol. 2: Separation: Anxiety and anger). New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Brenk-Franz, K., Ehrenthal, J., Freund, T., Schneider, N., Strauû, B., Tiesler, F., … Gensichen, J. (2018). Evaluation of the short form of Experience in Close Relationships (Revised, German Version ‘ECR-RD12’) — A tool to measure adult attachment in primary care. PLoS ONE, 13, e0191254.Google Scholar
Brennan, K.A., Clark, C.L., & Shaver, P.R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In Simpson, J.A. & Rholes, W.S. (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46–76). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Bosmans, G. (2011). An adaptation of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale – Revised for use with children and adolescents. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28, 1048–1072.Google Scholar
Brislin, R.W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1, 185–216.Google Scholar
Browne, M.W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In Bollen, K.A., & Long, J.S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Byrne, B.M. (2008). Testing for multigroup equivalence of a measuring instrument: A walk through the process. Psicothema, 20, 872–882.Google Scholar
Byrne, B.M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Byrne, B.M. (2012). Structural equation modeling with Mplus: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Byrne, B.M., Shavelson, R.J., & Muthén, B. (1989). Testing for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures: The issue of partial measurement invariance. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 456–466.Google Scholar
Cameron, J.J., Finnegan, H., & Morry, M.M. (2012). Orthogonal dreams in an oblique world: A meta-analysis of the association between attachment anxiety and avoidance. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 472–476.Google Scholar
Cheung, G.W., & Rensvold, R.B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 233–255.Google Scholar
Conradi, H.J., Gerlsma, C., van Duijn, M., & de Jonge, P. (2006). Internal and external validity of the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire in an American and two Dutch samples. European Journal of Psychiatry, 20, 258–269.Google Scholar
Fan, M. (2016). Effects of the ‘one-child’ policy and the number of children in families on the mental health of children in China. Revista De Cercetare Si Interventie Sociala, 52, 105–129.Google Scholar
Feeney, J.A., Noller, P., & Hanrahan, M. (1994). Assessing adult attachment. In Sperling, M.B. & Berman, W.H. (Eds.), Attachment in adults: Clinical and developmental perspectives (pp. 128–152). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Fraley, R.C., & Shaver, P.R. (1997). Adult attachment and the suppression of unwanted thoughts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1080–1091.Google Scholar
Fraley, R.C., Heffernan, M., Vicary, A.M., & Brumbaugh, C.C. (2011). The Experiences in Close Relationships — Relationship Structures questionnaire: A method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships. Psychological Assessment, 23, 615–625.Google Scholar
Fraley, R.C., Waller, N.G., & Brennan, K.A. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 350–365.Google Scholar
Frías, M.T., Shaver, P.R., & Díaz-Loving, R. (2014). Individualism and collectivism as moderators of the association between attachment insecurities, coping, and social support. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31, 3–31.Google Scholar
Friedman, M., Rholes, W.S., Simpson, J., Bond, M., Diaz-Loving, R. & Chan, C. (2010). Attachment avoidance and the cultural fit hypothesis: A cross-cultural investigation. Personal Relationships, 17, 107–126.Google Scholar
George, C., Kaplan, N., & Main, M. (1985). Attachment interview for adults. Unpublished manuscript, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Gignac, G.E., Bates, T.C., & Jang, K.L. (2007). Implications relevant to CFA model misfit, reliability, and the five-factor model as measured by the NEO-FFI. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 1051–1062.Google Scholar
Gray, J.S., & Dunlop, W.L. (2017). Structure and measurement invariance of adult romantic attachment. Journal of Personality Assessment, 1–10.Google Scholar
Hamid, P.N. (1994). Self-monitoring, locus of control, and social encounters of Chinese and New Zealand students. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 25, 353–368.Google Scholar
Hao, J. & Wilkinson, R.B. (2014, July). Self-report attachment styles and self-esteem: A meta-analysis. Poster presented at the 2014 International Association for Relationship Research Biennial Conference, Melbourne, Australia.Google Scholar
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524.Google Scholar
Henrich, J., Heine, S.J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, 61–83.Google Scholar
Hofstede Insights. (2018). Country comparison — Hofstede Insights. Retrieved April 13, 2018, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/australia,china/Google Scholar
Hopwood, C.J., & Donnellan, M.B. (2010). How should the internal structure of personality inventories be evaluated?. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14, 332–346.Google Scholar
Hu, L.T., & Bentler, P.M. (1999). Cut-off criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.Google Scholar
Jin, Y., & Tang, R.X. (2007). 亲密关系经验量表在中国大学生中的初步应用研究 [A preliminary study on ECR-R for Chinese college students]. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 15, 242–243.Google Scholar
Kaščáková, N., Husárová, D., Hašto, J., Kolarčik, P., Šolcová, I.P., Gecková, A.M., & Tavel, P. (2016). Validation of a 16-item short form of the Czech version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Revised Questionnaire in a representative sample. Psychological Reports, 119, 804–825.Google Scholar
Li, C.H. (2016). Confirmatory factor analysis with ordinal data: Comparing robust maximum likelihood and diagonally weighted least squares. Behaviour Research Methods, 48, 936–949.Google Scholar
Lin, H.H., Chew, P.Y.G., & Wilkinson, R.B. (2017). Young adults’ attachment orientations and psychological health across cultures: the moderating role of individualism and collectivism. Journal of Relationships Research, 8, 1–14.Google Scholar
Lu, X.H., Huo, L.Q., Gao, W.F. & Cong, Z. (2006). 亲密关系体验问卷修订版的信效度研究 [Reliability and validity of Experience of Close Relationshipa — Revised version]. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 20, 716–718.Google Scholar
Mallinckrodt, B., & Wang, C.-C. (2004). Quantitative methods for verifying semantic equivalence of translated research instruments: A Chinese version of the Experiences in Close Relationshipa Scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 368–379.Google Scholar
Mastrotheodoros, S., Chen, B.-B., & Motti-Stefanidi, F. (2015). Experiences in Close Relationships — Revised (ECR-R): Measurement (non-) invariance across Chinese and Greek samples. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12, 344–358.Google Scholar
Mesman, J., van IJzendoorn, M.H., & Sagi-Schwarz, A. (2002). Cross-cultural patterns of attachment. In Cassidy, J. & Shaver, P.R. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (3rd ed., pp. 852–877). New York: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P.R. (2007). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P.R. (2012). An attachment perspective on psychopathology. World Psychiatry, 11, 11–15.Google Scholar
Muthén, L.K., & Muthén, B.O. (2012). Mplus user guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Author.Google Scholar
Oyserman, D., Coon, H.M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72.Google Scholar
Pepping, C.A., & Duvenage, M. (2015). The origins of individual differences in dispositional mindfulness. Personality and Individual Differences, 93, 130–136.Google Scholar
Ravitz, P., Maunder, R., Hunter, J., Sthankiya, B., & Lancee, W. (2010). Adult attachment measures: A 25-year review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 69, 419–432.Google Scholar
Robinson, C.C., Hart, C.H., Mandleco, B.L., Olsen, S.F., Russell, A., Aloa, V., … Bazarskaya, N. (1996, August). Psychometric support for new measure of authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting practices: Cross-cultural connections. Paper presented at the Biennial Conference of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Quebec City, Canada.Google Scholar
Scharfe, E. (2016). Measuring what counts: Development of a new four-category measure of adult attachment. Personal Relationships, 23, 4–22.Google Scholar
Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research, 8, 23–74.Google Scholar
Schmitt, D.P., Alcalay, L., Allensworth, M., Allik, J.R., Ault, L., Austers, I., … Zupanèiè, A. (2004). Patterns and universals of adult romantic attachment across 62 cultural regions: Are models of self and of other pancultural constructs? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35, 367–402.Google Scholar
Shaver, P.R., & Mikulincer, M. (2002). Attachment-related psychodynamics. Attachment & Human Development, 4, 133–161.Google Scholar
Shaver, P.R., Belsky, J.A.Y., & Brennan, K.A. (2000). The adult attachment interview and self-reports of romantic attachment: Associations across domains and methods. Personal Relationships, 7, 25–43.Google Scholar
Shi, J., Wang, L., Yao, Y., Su, N., Zhao, X., & Chen, F. (2017). Family impacts on self-esteem in Chinese college freshmen. Frontier Psychiatry, 8, 279–286.Google Scholar
Sibley, C.G., & Liu, J.H. (2004). Short-term temporal stability and factor structure of the Revised Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-R) measure of adult attachment. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 969–975.Google Scholar
Steenkamp, B.E.M., & Baumgartner, H. (1998). Assessing measurement invariance in cross-national consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 25, 78–107.Google Scholar
Stanton, S.C., Campbell, L., & Pink, J.C. (2017). Benefits of positive relationship experiences for avoidantly attached individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113, 568.Google Scholar
Tucker, L.R., & Lewis, C. (1973). A reliability coefficient for maximum likelihood factor analysis. Psychometrika, 38, 1–10.Google Scholar
Vogel, D.L., & Wei, M. (2005). Adult attachment and help-seeking intent: The mediating roles of psychological distress and perceived social support. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 347.Google Scholar
Wang, K., Shi, H.-S., Geng, F.-L., Zou, L.-Q., Tan, S.-P., Wang, Y.,… Chan, R.C.K. (2016). Cross-cultural validation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale–21 in China. Psychological Assessment, 28, e88–e100.Google Scholar
Wei, M., Vogel, D.L., Ku, T.Y., & Zakalik, R.A. (2005). Adult attachment, affect regulation, negative mood, and interpersonal problems: The mediating roles of emotional reactivity and emotional cutoff. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 14–24.Google Scholar
Whiteman, S.D., McHale, S.M., & Soli, A. (2011). Theoretical perspectives on sibling relationships. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 3, 124–139.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, R.B. (2011). Measuring attachment dimensions in adolescents: Development and validation of the Experiences in Close Relationships – Revised – General Short Form. Journal of Relationships Research, 2, 53–62.Google Scholar
Wongpakaran, T., & Wongpakaran, N. (2012). A short version of the revised ‘Experience of Close Relationships Questionnaire’: Investigating non-clinical and clinical samples. Clinical Practise Epidemiology Mental Health, 8, 36–42.Google Scholar
Wongpakaran, T., Wongpakaran, N., & Wannarit, K. (2011). Validity and reliability of the Thai version of the Experiences of Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire. Singapore Medical Journal, 52, 100–106.Google Scholar
Xue, Y., Xu, Z.Y., Zaroff, C., Chi, P., Du, H., Ungvari, G.S., … & Xiang, Y.T. (2018). Associations of differentiation of self and adult attachment in individuals with anxiety-related disorders. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 54, 54–63.Google Scholar
Zhu, W., Wang, C.D., & Chong, C.C. (2016). Adult attachment, perceived social support, cultural orientation, and depressive symptoms: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63, 645–655.Google Scholar