The 10-Item Short Form of the German Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR-G-10)-Model Fit, Reliability, and...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR) is a widely used measure of adult attachment.
• A shorter, validated German version is needed for efficient assessment in research and clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a short form of the ECR in German (ECR-G-10).
• To ensure the new scale is a reliable and valid measure of attachment anxiety and avoidance.

Main Methods:

• Item selection using ant colony optimization (ACO) from the original ECR item pool.
• Validation through correlation with external criteria (romantic relationships, personality, psychopathology, trauma) across diverse samples (N=1470).
• Replication of findings in a third online study (N=277).

Main Results:

• A 10-item scale (ECR-G-10) with five items for avoidance and five for anxiety was identified.
• The ECR-G-10 demonstrated good model fit, acceptable reliability, and strong convergent and discriminant validity.
• The two subscales (anxiety, avoidance) were independent.

Conclusions:

• The ECR-G-10 is a psychometrically sound and economically viable instrument for assessing attachment dimensions in German-speaking populations.
• This short form facilitates efficient measurement of attachment styles in various research and clinical contexts.