Toward an optimized measure of perceived partner responsiveness: Development and validation of the perceived responsiveness and insensitivity scale.

ABSTRACT

Perceived partner responsiveness (PPR; Reis & Shaver, Handbook of personal relationships, 1988, Wiley)-the belief that one's partner will attend to core concerns-is a construct in basic relationship research that can help evaluate intimacy in couple therapy. However, research into PPR is hampered by a lack of standardized measurement. Three studies were undertaken to develop and evaluate an optimized self-report PPR measure. In Study 1, n = 2,334 respondents completed 246 candidate items derived from 19 PPR measures. Exploratory factor analyses identified two underlying dimensions, Responsiveness and Insensitivity. Item response theory was used to develop two 8-item subscales for the Perceived Responsiveness and Insensitivity scale (PRI), both of which showed incremental prediction over global satisfaction. In Study 2, n = 173 respondents completed the brief PRI along with measures of global relationship evaluations and concrete relationship behaviors every other week for 8 weeks. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models found the PRI subscales were more sensitive than global evaluations to fluctuations in support and conflict. In Study 3, n = 161 heterosexual couples completed the brief PRI along with self-reports of responsive and insensitive behaviors. Actor-partner interdependence models demonstrated the PRI subscales were associated with partners' self-reported behaviors even after controlling for own behaviors. Thus, the PRI offers a PPR measure that demonstrates desirable properties for treatment research including (a) incremental validity over global satisfaction, (b) ability to detect meaningful change over time, and (c) sensitivity to partners' behaviors in the relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).