The Adlerian Social Interest Scale-Romantic Relationship Form (ASIS-RR)

Abstract

The Adlerian Social Interest Scale-Romantic Relationship Form (ASIS-RR) is a specialized psychological instrument developed within the framework of Adlerian psychology. While Alfred Adler’s theories traditionally focus on an individual’s sense of belonging to the broader community, the ASIS-RR addresses a crucial gap by measuring the construct of Social Interest specifically within the context of dyadic romantic relationships. This 24-item inventory assesses the degree to which an individual exhibits cooperation, empathy, and concern for the welfare of their partner, reflecting the core Adlerian principle of Gemeinschaftsgefuhl, or “community feeling.”

Keywords

Adlerian psychology, Social Interest, Romantic Relationships, Gemeinschaftsgefuhl, Psychological Assessment, Dyadic Relationships, Scale Development.

Authors

Kalkan, M.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Adlerian Social Interest Scale-Romantic Relationship Form (ASIS-RR) is to provide a standardized, quantifiable measure of an individual’s social interest as it manifests within an intimate, romantic partnership. Prior scales focused heavily on general community involvement and belonging, neglecting the intensity and importance of social interest in close relationships, which is highly predictive of relationship satisfaction and stability.

The ASIS-RR was developed to allow researchers and clinicians to assess relationship dynamics through an Adlerian lens, focusing on elements like mutual respect, willingness to sacrifice, and the desire for mutual growth, which are considered crucial indicators of psychological health and maturity according to Adlerian theory.

Construct

The ASIS-RR measures Social Interest, a central tenet of Adlerian psychology. Social interest is theoretically defined as the individual’s sense of belonging and connectedness to humanity, expressed through cooperation, contribution, and empathy toward others. Adler referred to this concept using the German term, Gemeinschaftsgefuhl.

In the context of the ASIS-RR, the construct is operationalized by examining behaviors and attitudes reflecting a commitment to the partner’s welfare over purely selfish goals. High scores on the ASIS-RR are empirically linked to various positive psychological states, including high self-efficacy and self-esteem, suggesting that a strong sense of social interest in a relationship is correlated with overall psychological well-being.

Validity

The validity of the ASIS-RR is established through rigorous scale development procedures detailed in the foundational reference by Kalkan (2009). The development process involved establishing content validity by grounding items directly in Adlerian theoretical concepts related to cooperation and relationship health. Furthermore, construct validity was explored by examining the correlation between ASIS-RR scores and measures of related psychological constructs, such as general social interest scales, self-esteem, and relationship satisfaction inventories.

The instrument’s ability to differentiate between individuals demonstrating healthy, cooperative relationship styles and those exhibiting antagonistic or self-centered tendencies provides evidence of its predictive and concurrent validity.

Reliability

Information concerning the reliability of the Adlerian Social Interest Scale-Romantic Relationship Form (ASIS-RR) is fully documented in the 2009 publication. Reliability was assessed primarily through measures of internal consistency, typically using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. High internal consistency indicates that the 24 items reliably measure the same underlying construct (Social Interest in Romantic Relationships).

Further reliability studies may include test-retest reliability to confirm the stability of the scores over time, ensuring the instrument yields consistent measurements when administered repeatedly to the same individuals, provided no major intervening life events related to the relationship have occurred.

Factor Analysis

The psychometric properties, including the factor structure, of the ASIS-RR are thoroughly detailed in Kalkan (2009). Factor analytic methods, such as Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), were utilized during development to confirm that the 24 items load onto a coherent factor structure consistent with the theoretical conceptualization of social interest in a romantic context. This analysis aims to verify that the scale is essentially unidimensional or, if multi-dimensional, that its subscales align with specific, recognized components of the Gemeinschaftsgefuhl construct, such as cooperation, empathy, and mutual respect.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report inventory/Psychological scale

Format: 24 items rated on a five-point Likert-type scale.

Language Available: Primarily English (Original development context may imply Turkish, based on author name, but items provided are in English).

Population Group: Individuals currently involved in a romantic relationship.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults.

Population Details: Suitable for use with individuals across various relationship statuses (dating, cohabiting, married) interested in assessing their contribution and cooperation within the relationship.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement with each statement using the following response format: 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (undecided), 4 (agree), 5 (strongly agree). Certain items (marked with an asterisk) are reverse scored to mitigate response bias.

Keywords

Psychometric properties, Adlerian, Self-efficacy, Self-esteem, Relationship Satisfaction, Psychological Assessment, 24-item scale.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The author of the instrument, M. Kalkan, has agreed for this scale to be included in databases under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 license. This typically permits non-commercial use, research, and educational purposes, provided appropriate attribution is given. The instrument was developed and published in 2009.

Reference’s

• Kalkan, M. (2009). Adlerian Social Interest Scale-Romantic Relationship Form (ASIS-RR): Scale Development and Psychometric Properties. Individual Differences Research, 7(1), 40-48.

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Items of the The Adlerian Social Interest Scale-Romantic Relationship Form (ASIS-RR)

The items are rated on a five-point scale: 1 (strongly disagree), 2 (disagree), 3 (undecided), 4 (agree), 5 (strongly agree).

1. 1. My rights and obligations are equal to those of my partner.
   2. I can sacrifices to promote my partner’s growth.
   3. I like joining in group activities together with my partner.
   4. I like to work or play together with my partner to reach mutual benefits and goals.
   5. I want to give and take, in the hope of reaching mutually acceptable solutions to conflicts in my relationship.
   6. I recognize my partner with respect to his/her rights, knowledge and experience.
   7. I want to use my abilities, knowledge, or talents to aid my partner.
   8. I feel at ease and comfortable when interacting with my partner.
   9. I show physical affection to my partner.
   10.  I feel that I am a member of a group together with my partner.
   11. My personal goals must be consistent with the welfare of my partner.
   12. I help and encourage my partner’s growth.
   13. I show deep interest in my partner’s full use of talents and potentials.
   14. I show verbal affection to my partner.
   15. In a romantic relationship, one of the partners must be dominant *
   16. I can abuse my partner to my expediency *
   17. It is acceptable for the partners to dominate each other *
   18. My partner must obey me *
   19. Men/women cannot be trusted *
   20. I am plainspoken in romantic relationships.
   21. The small mistakes of my partner are not important for me.
   22. Only love is necessary for happiness in romantic relationships *
   23. I prefer orgiastic sexuality rather than a personalized love *
   24. I prefer to enjoy the present time without considering the future of my relationships *

Items marked with an asterisk (*) are reverse scored.