10 Item Attachment Scales

10 Item Attachment Scales

These scales were originally presented by Brennan, Shaver & Hazan (1989) but not published in print until included in a later article (Brennan & Shaver, 1995). The authors created these scales by conducting a large scale, oblique factor analysis of 143 individual items, that resulted in 34 factors with eigenvalues greater than one. Seven of the factors were selected as having sufficient items to each form a 10-item sub-scale with adequate internal reliability. The seven factors were titled:

* Frustration with Partners * Proximity Seeking * Self-Reliance * Ambivalence * Trust / Confidence in Others * Jealousy / Fear of Abandonment * Anxious Clinging to Partners

All items were measured on 7-point Likert-type scales ranging from "disagree strongly" to "agree strongly". The following two of the seven sub-scales are extracted from Brennan & Shaver (1995).

Frustration with Partners

* I haven't received enough appreciation from romantic partners * My romantic partner doesn't take my concerns seriously * My romantic partners have often let me down * I sometimes get frustrated and angry because no one loves me the way I'd like to be loved * My romantic partners have often been inconsiderate * My romantic partners haven't usually understood what I needed * I often get frustrated because my romantic partners don't understand my needs * I've generally been able to count on romantic partners for comfort and understanding (R) * My romantic partner makes me doubt myself * My romantic partners have usually been there when I needed them (R)

Proximity-Seeking

* After even a brief separaion, I eagerly look forward to seeing my partner * When something godd happens, I can hardly wait to tell my partner * I like to tell my romantic partner all about my day * I like to share new ideas with my romantic partner * When I am away from my romantic partner, I miss him or her a great deal * I enjoy talking to my romantic partner about almost anything * It helps to turn to my romantic partner in times of need * I don't need much affection from my romantic partner (R) * I don't seek out my romantic partner when I am feeling bad (R) * I like to be as emotionally close as possible with my romantic partners

Notes: (R) indicates reverse scored item.

During their study, Brennan & Shaver (1995) compared scores from this scale with attachment style measured using the Adult Attachment Questionnaire. They found the following relationships:

Attachment Style

Positive Correlations

Negative Correlations

Avoidant

Frustration with partners Self-reliance Ambivalence

Trust / confidence in others Proximity seeking

Anxious/Ambivalent

Frustration with partners Jealousy / fear of abandonment Anxious clinging to partners

Trust / confidence in others

Secure

Trust / confidence in others Proximity seeking

Frustration with partners Self-reliance Ambivalence Jealousy / fear of abandonment Anxious clinging to partners

Adapted from Brennan & Shaver, 1995

Discriminant function analysis using all seven scales was used to categorise participants and this was compared with their self-report classification using the Hazan and Shaver measure. The two resulting discriminant functions correctly predicted the attachment style of 72.3% of participans. These functions separated out the secure from the avoidant participants and then separated out the anxious/ambivalent participants.

Factor analysis was conducted on the seven sub-scales using principal axis extraction. Two factors emerged which accounted for 71.3% of the variance and correlated at only r = 0.05. Based on the contributing items, these factors were labelled 'insecurity,' which distinguished avoidant from secure participants, and 'preoccupation with attachment,' which distinguished anxious/ambivalent from secure participants.