The Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure

Abstract

The Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure (PSBM) is a psychological scale developed by Weigel and Shrout (2025) to investigate the antecedent factors leading to the use of information-seeking strategies when individuals suspect a partner’s potential infidelity. The development of the PSBM originated from a 24-item list generated by Hanson Sobraske, Gaulin, and Boster (2014), which initially identified behaviors causing concern about a potential rival. Weigel and Shrout adapted these items specifically for the context of suspicion within romantic relationships.

The resulting instrument consists of 21 items, after the exclusion of three items deemed to constitute behaviors that were already indicative of cheating. The PSBM was administered to individuals who reported suspecting their partner of infidelity. Subsequent exploratory factor analysis supported a robust one-factor structure, and initial psychometric evaluations demonstrated strong reliability with an internal consistency coefficient of α = .94.

Keywords

Cheating, Romantic Partners, Suspicious Behavior, Infidelity, Suspicion, Partner Measures, Relationships.

Authors

Weigel, Daniel J., Shrout, M. Rosie

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure is to quantitatively assess the frequency and intensity of a partner’s behaviors that suggest or indicate potential infidelity within a current romantic relationship.

This measurement tool is designed specifically for research contexts that examine relational dynamics, suspicion management, and the subsequent behavioral responses (such as information-seeking or avoidance strategies) employed by the suspicious individual.

Construct

The PSBM measures the psychological construct of Perceived Partner Suspicious Behavior. This construct is defined as the set of observable actions, verbal communications, or circumstantial changes exhibited by one partner that are interpreted by the other partner as cues or indicators of extramarital or extra-relational involvement.

The scale is unidimensional, suggesting that all 21 items load onto a single underlying factor representing the general level of behavior that raises suspicion regarding a partner’s potential deviation from relational commitment.

Validity

At the time of the initial publication (Weigel & Shrout, 2025), no specific data regarding construct, convergent, or discriminant validity was reported or available for the Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure.

Reliability

The reliability of the Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure was established using measures of Internal Consistency.

• Internal Consistency: The measure demonstrated excellent internal consistency, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha (α) coefficient of .94. This high value suggests that the 21 items consistently measure the same underlying construct (suspicious partner behavior) and are highly correlated with one another.

Factor Analysis

A detailed Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) utilizing promax rotation was performed on the 21 items comprising the scale. Initially, the analysis identified three factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0.

However, upon inspection of the scree plot, a clear and dominant single factor structure emerged. The primary factor accounted for a substantial portion of the total variance, specifically 51.6%. In contrast, the second and third factors explained significantly less variance, accounting for only 6.58% and 5.72%, respectively. Based on the overwhelming dominance of the first factor, the PSBM was confirmed as a robust, unidimensional measure of suspicious partner behavior.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Psychological scale.

Format: The instrument is a Rating Scale. Respondents are asked to rate how often each suspicious behavior occurred in their current relationship using a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never) to 7 (all of the time). Higher cumulative scores indicate a greater frequency of reported suspicious behaviors. The administration method is electronic.

Language Available: English.

Population Group: Human (Male and Female).

Age Group: The scale is suitable for use across the spectrum of adulthood, encompassing Young Adulthood (18-29 years), Thirties (30-39 years), and Middle Age (40-64 years). The age range of the initial sample was 18 to 47 years.

Population Details: The sample population consisted of individuals located in the United States who were actively involved in romantic relationships and reported suspecting their partner of infidelity.

Test Methodology: The development and evaluation of the scale utilized standard psychometric practices, including:

• Test Reliability

• Internal Consistency

• Factor Analysis

• Exploratory Factor Analysis

Keywords

Cheating, Infidelity, Suspicion, Marriage and Partner Measures, Romantic Partners, Likert Scale, Internal Consistency, Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

Affiliation Email addresses: Weigel, Daniel J.: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Weigel, Daniel J.: University of Nevada Reno, Human Development & Family Science, 4955 Energy Way, Reno, Nevada, United States, 89502, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Researchers interested in utilizing the Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure must contact the corresponding author, Daniel J. Weigel, to obtain permission.

Fee: There is no reported fee associated with the use of this measure.

Test Year: The measure was published in 2025.

Reference’s

Weigel, D. J., & Shrout, M. R. (2025). Are you cheating on me? Identifying factors contributing to the use of suspicion confirmation and avoidance strategies. Western Journal of Communication, 89(1), 108–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2024.2324382

Items of the the Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure

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

This measure consists of 15 items.