Development and validation of the Relational Embeddedness Scale (RES) in India

In collectivistic cultures, marriage represents not merely a union between two individuals but a merging of two-family systems, with extended family relationships playing a role in marital satisfaction and stability. The present study developed and validated the Relational Embeddedness Scale (RES), a measure assessing extended family processes as a core determinant of marital functioning in collectivistic contexts. In a sample of 957 married individuals in India, exploratory factor analysis in a random split half (n = 455) revealed a unidimensional structure, subsequently confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis in the holdout sample (n = 502; CFI = .920, RMSEA = .062). The final 31-item scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = .97) across genders, strong convergent validity with marital satisfaction (r = .61, p < .001), and good discriminant validity from social desirability (r = .06, ns). Hierarchical regression confirmed incremental validity, with the RES accounting for 36.0% additional variance in marital satisfaction beyond social desirability (β = .60, p < .001). Men reported higher levels of relational embeddedness (d = 0.17) and marital satisfaction (d = 0.24) than women, although the RES-satisfaction association did not differ significantly by gender. The unidimensional structure suggests that relational embeddedness constitutes a holistic relational experience in which in-law relationships, family support, and community integration form an integrated whole. The RES provides initial evidence of reliability and validity as an instrument for assessing family-embedded marital processes, with implications for both cross-cultural research on extended family systems and clinical work with couples in collectivistic contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).