The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR)-Short Form: Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure

We developed a 12-item, short form of the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998 Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L. and Shaver, P. R. 1998. “Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview”. In Attachment theory and close relationships, Edited by: Simpson, J. A. and Rholes, W. S. 46–76. New York: Guilford. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) across 6 studies. In Study 1, we examined the reliability and factor structure of the measure. In Studies 2 and 3, we cross-validated the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short form measure; whereas in Study 4, we examined test-retest reliability over a 1-month period. In Studies 5 and 6, we further assessed the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short version of the ECR when administered as a stand-alone instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that 2 factors, labeled Anxiety and Avoidance, provided a good fit to the data after removing the influence of response sets. We found validity to be equivalent for the short and the original versions of the ECR across studies. Finally, the results were comparable when we embedded the short form within the original version of the ECR and when we administered it as a stand-alone measure.