Attitudes About Marriage

Abstract

The Attitudes About Marriage scale (AAM), developed by Margolin and Foo (1992), is a robust psychometric scale designed to quantitatively assess an individual’s disposition and attitudes toward the institution of marriage. This 18-item instrument is structured around a three-factor model comprising the distinct subscales of Intimacy, Commitment, and Openness. The AAM has proven valuable in exploring significant demographic variations in marital attitudes, revealing, for instance, that men and older cohorts often express more positive views toward marriage compared to women and younger individuals. As a key tool in relationship research, the AAM facilitates the understanding of evolving marital perspectives across diverse populations.

Keywords

Attitudes About Marriage, AAM, Marital Attitudes, Intimacy, Commitment, Openness, Psychometrics, Relationship Research, Marital Aggression, Domestic Violence, Family of Origin.

Authors

Margolin, G., Foo, L.

Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the Attitudes About Marriage Index (AAM) is to provide a standardized, quantitative mechanism for measuring complex individual beliefs concerning matrimony. By segmenting these beliefs into defined subcomponents (Intimacy, Commitment, and Openness), the scale enables researchers to conduct granular analyses of specific facets of marital outlook, such as the differential importance placed on emotional closeness versus institutional permanence.

Beyond basic measurement, the AAM is essential for studies investigating predictors of relationship success, marital satisfaction, and vulnerability to involvement in non-traditional relationship arrangements. Importantly, the AAM is often used in conjunction with related instruments—such as those measuring attitudes condoning marital aggression—to contextualize how underlying beliefs moderate relational behaviors, particularly concerning conflict and violence within intimate partnerships.

Construct

The AAM scale operationalizes the psychological construct of marital attitudes, conceptualizing them as multi-faceted and complex. The scale specifically decomposes general attitudes toward marriage into three hypothesized, distinct sub-dimensions:

• Intimacy: This factor measures the degree to which an individual views marriage primarily as a source of deep, personal connection, emotional closeness, and mutual self-disclosure.
• Commitment: This factor assesses the perceived strength of the individual’s dedication, loyalty, and long-term commitment to the formalized marital bond and the institution itself.
• Openness: This factor gauges the individual’s acceptance of or willingness to consider alternatives to traditional, strictly monogamous marriage structures.

Validity

Although the original 1992 AAM Index remains an unpublished instrument, its persistent utilization in subsequent, rigorous peer-reviewed research—including the seminal 2000 study by O’Hearn and Margolin—confirms its practical utility and strong face validity within clinical and social psychological domains. The scale’s inherent structure supports construct validity by successfully differentiating between the emotional, institutional, and normative components of marital attitudes.

Furthermore, when used in related research, such as studies focusing on attitudes condoning aggression, the AAM demonstrates predictive utility. Research found a significant correlation among men who condoned physical aggression: a history of family-of-origin abuse correlated with actual physical and emotional aggression toward female partners. This finding suggests that measured attitudes operate as a powerful moderator variable, thereby establishing the external validity of measures used in conjunction with the AAM Index in violence research.

Reliability

Specific internal consistency statistics, such as Cronbach’s Alpha, or test-retest reliability coefficients for the original 18-item Attitudes About Marriage Index (AAM) are not explicitly documented in the initial source material. Nonetheless, the scale’s sustained and widespread application across numerous academic publications in relationship science strongly implies that it satisfies the fundamental psychometric scale criteria required for generating reliable and consistent data in psychological research.

Factor Analysis

The theoretical structure of the AAM is based upon a clear three-factor model derived directly from the constructs of Intimacy, Commitment, and Openness. These three subscales are theoretically and statistically distinct, yet related, dimensions that collectively define an individual’s overall attitude toward marriage. The original 18 items of the scale are distributed across these three factors to ensure a comprehensive assessment of the multifaceted construct.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychosocial Self-Report Inventory

Format: Multi-item scale (18 items), likely utilizing a Likert-type response format (e.g., measuring agreement or justification). The specific rating scale for the 18 original AAM items is not detailed in available sources.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Adults involved in or considering intimate relationships; common samples include college students or clinical populations.

Age Group: Adult populations (typically 18 years and older)

Population Details: Utilized primarily to study differences across various demographic groups, including gender, age cohorts, and diverse ethnicities.

Test Methodology: Quantitative psychometric scale assessment used predominantly in correlational and moderator analyses within psychological and social research.

Keywords

Marital Aggression, Spousal Abuse, Family of Origin, Domestic Violence, Justifiability, Interpersonal Commitment, Relational Conflict.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A (Original instrument affiliated with the University of Southern California)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1992

Permissions & Fee: The Attitudes About Marriage Index (Margolin & Foo, 1992) is classified as an unpublished instrument. Researchers seeking to utilize the scale must typically contact the principal author, Gayla Margolin, for permission and access.

Note: The instrument concerning attitudes condoning marital aggression, which is often studied alongside the AAM, is available on page 165 of the cited journal article. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://91.190.232.206:8080/predmet/inostr/nasilie/Marital.pdf

Reference’s

Margolin, G., & Foo, L. (1992). Attitudes About Marriage Index. Unpublished instrument. University of Southern California.

O’Hearn. Holly Garcia, and Margolin. Gayla (2000). Men’s Attitudes Condoning Marital Aggression: A Moderator between Family of Origin Abuse and Aggression against Female Partners. Cognitive Therapy and Research, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 159-174.

Items of the Attitudes About Marriage

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

NOTE: The following 25 items comprise the aggression justification scale utilized in the research published by O’Hearn & Margolin (2000) concerning attitudes condoning husband-to-wife aggression, which was studied in conjunction with the Attitudes About Marriage Index.

A husband slaps or hits his wife if . . .

Rating (0) Unjustifiable, (1–4) Somewhat Justifiable, (5–6) Justifiable

1. She comes at him with a knife
2. She physically abuses their child
3. In an argument, she hits him first
4. He catches her in bed with another man
5. He learns that she is ha‎ving an affair
6. She terrorizes and abuses his pet
7. She uncontrollably smashes his personal belongings
8. She screams hysterically
9. At a party she flirts with another man in front of him and his friends
10. She threatens verbally to get her gun
11. She is drunk, belligerent, and acting crazy
12. She calls him ‘‘stupid’’ over and over again
13. She calls his mother nasty names all the time
14. He is drunk and out of control
15. She accuses him of being an incompetent and insensitive human being
16. She makes him look like a fool in front of his family and friends
17. He overhears her talking on the phone with her ex-boyfriend
18. She refuses to let him enroll in college courses
19. He is upset about losing his job
20. She insults his best friend
21. She refuses to have sex with him
22. She refuses to let him go out for an evening with his friends
23. He is angry because he got a speeding ticket
24. She tells him she should have divorced him a long time ago
25. She threatens to move out in the middle of an argument