A New Attachment Assessment Tool: Attachment-Based Mental Representation Scale (ABMRS)

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Attachment theory is crucial for understanding interpersonal relationships and mental health.
• Existing attachment measures may not fully capture the nuances of attachment representations.
• Developing culturally relevant assessment tools is essential for accurate psychological evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new assessment tool, the Attachment-Based Mental Representation Scale (ABMRS), to measure attachment.
• To establish the psychometric properties of the ABMRS in a Turkish cultural context.

Main Methods:

• A multi-stage development process involving item pool generation, expert review, and factor analyses.
• Reliability and validity were assessed using multiple criterion measures, including the Brief Symptom Inventory and Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory.
• Test-retest reliability was examined, and the scale underwent further psychometric evaluation with revised item sets.

Main Results:

• The final 40-item Attachment-Based Mental Representation Scale (ABMRS) exhibited a six-dimensional structure.
• Reliability coefficients for the dimensions ranged from 0.72 to 0.86.
• The dimensions could be meaningfully grouped into "Secure Attachment" and "Insecure Attachment" categories.

Conclusions:

• The Attachment-Based Mental Representation Scale (ABMRS) is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing attachment.
• The scale effectively measures various dimensions of attachment within the Turkish cultural context.
• The findings support the utility of the ABMRS for research and clinical applications in psychology.