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Romantic Attachment in Chilean Adults: Development of a Short-form Version of the Experiences in Close Relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2013

Rosario Spencer ,
Itziar Alonso-Arbiol  and
Andrés Fresno
Rosario Spencer*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Talca (Chile)
Itziar Alonso-Arbiol
Affiliation:
Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU (Spain)
Andrés Fresno
Affiliation:
Universidad de Talca (Chile)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Rosario Spencer. Facultad de Psicología Universidad de Talca. Avenida Lircay s/n. Talca. (Chile). Phone: +5671-201784. E-mails: rspencer@utalca.cl or rosariospencer@gmail.com
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Abstract

Though the study of romantic attachment has expanded into all areas of psychology, it remains the case that there is no valid, reliable test available to measure it in Latin America. The present research objective was to adapt a Chilean version of the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver 1998) questionnaire, developing a short-form version, and to determine its factor structure in two samples of Chilean adults of different ages. A pool of 25 items was chosen to capture the two dimensions (Anxiety and Avoidance), which were obtained through principal components analysis in a sample of 477 adults. Subsequently, the short-form ECR’s two-dimensional structure was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis in a new sample (N = 296). All sub-dimensions’ internal consistencies were found to be satisfactory. Evidence for the test’s concurrent validity with the variables age, gender, and socioeconomic status was also obtained. The dimensions of romantic attachment showed no differences according to age or gender. However, participants of high socioeconomic status exhibited lower levels of anxious attachment than those with low socioeconomic status. It was concluded that the Chilean short-form version of the ECR has good psychometric properties and is a suitable assessment of adult attachment.

Keywords

romantic attachmentexperiences in close relationshipsChile
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2013 , E61
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

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Footnotes

This research was funded by research grants from the Chilean government’s National Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FONDECYT N 11080093) that were awarded to the first author.
This article was made possible in part by support from the Quality of Life and Healthy Environments Research Program at the University of Talca Department of Psychology.

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