Development and validation of an 8-item version of the Real Relationship Inventory–Client form

Abstract

Objective: To develop and validate a very brief version of the 24-item Real Relationship Inventory–Client (RRI-C) form. Method: Two independent samples of individual psychotherapy patients (Nsample 1 = 700, Nsample 2 = 434) completed the RRI-C along with other measures. Psychometric scale shortening involved exploratory factor analysis, item response theory analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multigroup CFA. Reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the scale and subscales were also assessed. Results: The 8-item RRI-C (RRI-C-SF) preserves the two-factor structure: Genuineness (k = 4, α = .86) and Realism (k = 4, α = .87), which were correlated at r = .74. CFA provided the following fit indices for the bifactor model: X 2/df = 2.16, CFI = .99, TLI = .96, RMSEA = .07, and SRMR = .03. Multigroup CFA showed that the RRI-C-SF was invariant across in-person and remote session formats. The RRI-C-SF demonstrated high reliability (α = .91); high correlation with the full-length scale (r = .96); and excellent convergent and discriminant validity with measures of other elements of the therapeutic relationship, personality characteristics, current mental health state, and demographic-clinical variables. Clinical change benchmarks were calculated to serve as valuable tools for both research and clinical practice. Conclusion: The RRI-C-SF is a reliable measure that can be used for both research and clinical purposes. It enables a nuanced assessment of the genuineness and the realism dimensions of the real relationship.