Preliminary validation of a romantic attachment orientation measure from the California Adult Q-Sort

ABSTRACT

We present data on the preliminary validation of a measure of romantic attachment orientation from the California Adult Q-Sort (CAQ). The CAQ is found in several longitudinal data sets, and researchers can use the CAQ to answer questions about changes in romantic attachment across the lifespan. Expert raters nominated CAQ items that were characteristic of attachment anxiety and avoidance. In a sample of observers and targets, we compared ratings based on composites of these CAQ items to self- and observer-reports from a widely used scale of adult attachment. These expert-generated measures of CAQ-attachment orientation correlated highly with ECR measures of attachment orientation, suggesting that items from the CAQ can reliably measure an individual’s attachment orientation.

KEYWORDS:

• Romantic attachment
• Q-Sort
• longitudinal methods
• observer-based measures
• personality development

Acknowledgements

We thank members of the Personality, Relationships, and Hormones Lab and Nicky Newton for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.