Using Attachment to Better Understand the Therapy Alliance: The Attachment Based Alliance Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Family Therapy

Background:

• Existing therapeutic alliance questionnaires often yield inflated scores and limited variability.
• There is a need for reliable and valid measures to assess the therapeutic alliance in couple therapy, particularly concerning relational bonds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Attachment Based Alliance Questionnaire (ABAQ) for use in couple therapy.
• To assess the psychometric properties and predictive utility of the ABAQ.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 251 clinical couples.
• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were employed to determine the structure of the ABAQ.
• Reliability and validity were assessed, including predictive validity for early therapy changes.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis supported a one-factor or two-factor structure for the ABAQ, closely aligning with attachment theory constructs.
• The ABAQ demonstrated adequate reliability and validity.
• The ABAQ scores were predictive of early therapeutic changes in couples.

Conclusions:

• The Attachment Based Alliance Questionnaire (ABAQ) is a psychometrically sound tool for assessing the therapeutic alliance in couple therapy.
• The ABAQ can assist clinicians in understanding and attuning to relational dynamics.
• The ABAQ offers a valuable resource for researchers investigating the couple therapy alliance.