A Scale to Measure Attitude Toward Stable Affective Relashionships

Abstract

This article reports the construetion of a scale designed to measure attitude toward stable affective relationships
(SAR). The scale construetion was part of a broader study where, within the generic subject of consequences of the liberation
of mores on heterosexual love relationships, the influence of sex and gender on the attitude toward this type of intimate
relationship was explored. The following steps were utilized: (a) interview with adolescents and young adults in order to collect
material for the construetion of the items; (b) application of the items construeted to 100 college students who were asked to
indicate the importance of each item to a SAR; (c) maintenance of the items in which at least 80% of the sample agreed that
they were important; (d) pre-test with 111 college students; (e) maintenance of the items of greater discriminant power and
final testing with a 257 college students sample. The scale was translated into English and tested with a sample of 167 college
students from the University of Califórnia, Los Angeles. With both, the Brazilian and the American samples, the instrument
showed high reliability (oc = 0,91; a = 0,89). The three validation criteria used (factorial validity, construct validity, and
concurrent validity with the Love Attitudes Scale by Hendrick & Hendrick, 1986) confirmed the validity of the SAR Scale. The
article concludes with indications about the utility of the scale for research on close relationships and even for clinicai practice.