TY - JOUR
T1 - Validating the Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures Scale among Chinese Children and Adolescents
AU - Zhang, Qingyao
AU - Hou, Zhi Jin
AU - Fraley, Robert Chris
AU - Hu, Yueyue
AU - Zhang, Xiu
AU - Zhang, Jingjuan
AU - Guo, Xiaoluan
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China under Grant 15ZDB139 and the China Scholarship Council (to Qingyao Zhang). This paper was written while the first author was a visiting scholar at the Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana?Champaign (UIUC). The first author is grateful to people at UIUC for their support.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures (ECR–RS) scale is designed to capture attachment among diverse relational contexts (e.g., parents, friends). Although the ECR–RS has begun to be applied to children and adolescents, its psychometric properties among children and adolescents are not well-known, especially concerning second-order structural validity, measurement invariance, and longitudinal predictive validity. To fill this gap, the current research examined the ECR–RS among 3,184 Chinese students (9- to 18-year old) using cross-sectional and longitudinal (6 months) data. The results demonstrated generally acceptable composite and test–retest reliabilities, and acceptable second-order structural validity. In addition, the measurement invariance of the ECR–RS held across time, relational contexts, and school levels to varying degrees. Furthermore, using a partial invariance model, we depicted the cross-sectional trajectory of attachment scores across relational contexts and school levels. Finally, attachment was associated concurrently with the Big-Five personality traits in theoretically meaningful ways and longitudinally predicted depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem after controlling for age, gender, and pretest scores. In conclusion, the Chinese ECR–RS has proven to be a valuable instrument for future research among children and adolescents.
AB - The Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures (ECR–RS) scale is designed to capture attachment among diverse relational contexts (e.g., parents, friends). Although the ECR–RS has begun to be applied to children and adolescents, its psychometric properties among children and adolescents are not well-known, especially concerning second-order structural validity, measurement invariance, and longitudinal predictive validity. To fill this gap, the current research examined the ECR–RS among 3,184 Chinese students (9- to 18-year old) using cross-sectional and longitudinal (6 months) data. The results demonstrated generally acceptable composite and test–retest reliabilities, and acceptable second-order structural validity. In addition, the measurement invariance of the ECR–RS held across time, relational contexts, and school levels to varying degrees. Furthermore, using a partial invariance model, we depicted the cross-sectional trajectory of attachment scores across relational contexts and school levels. Finally, attachment was associated concurrently with the Big-Five personality traits in theoretically meaningful ways and longitudinally predicted depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem after controlling for age, gender, and pretest scores. In conclusion, the Chinese ECR–RS has proven to be a valuable instrument for future research among children and adolescents.
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U2 - 10.1080/00223891.2021.1947844
DO - 10.1080/00223891.2021.1947844
M3 - Article
C2 - 34292844
AN - SCOPUS:85111352622
SN - 0022-3891
VL - 104
SP - 347
EP - 358
JO - Journal of Personality Assessment
JF - Journal of Personality Assessment
IS - 3
ER -