Resumen de Measuring relational maintenance in marriage: Theoretical and methodological issues
J. Donald Ragsdale, Frances E. Brandau-Brown
This study was concerned with the stability of measures of relational maintenance behaviors in marriage and both theoretical and methodological implications of instability. Effects of differences of populations, types of relationships, methods of response elicitation, and sex on components identified through factor analysis were examined. Comparisons were also made between exploratory factor analysis and principal components analysis. A survey of previous research showed the popularity of a single model of relational maintenance in marriage (Canary & Stafford, 1992; Stafford & Canary, 1991) but a comparative dearth of confirmatory or other forms of factor analysis. Direct factor analytic comparisons of two datasets collected using identical sampling techniques and methods of response elicitation showed theoretically important variation in both factor structure and item composition. Comparisons of female and male responses within each dataset revealed similar variation. Theoretical implications are discussed, and recommendations for scale construction and use in future research are made.
