Evidence of validity and factorial invariance of the Sternberg Love Scale Brief Spanish Version

Abstract

This study aims to adapt, provide evidence of validity, analyze the invariance across gender, and estimate the reliability of the reduced version of the Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale (STLS-R). The sample size comprises 988 Peruvians (748 females and 240 males), who had been in a relationship for at least one month, and whose ages ranged from16 to 54 years old (M=21.29; SD=3.91). Before the statistical analysis, the semantic equivalence was tested through the translation-back translation method. The results indicate that the three-dimensional STLS-R model present satisfactory goodness-of-fit in the data (χ2 (87) = 177.14; χ2/df =2.04; CFI =.99; RMSEA=.03 [.02, .04]; SRMR = .03) which is invariant with respect to gender, and show acceptable reliability regarding intimacy (ω = .91), commitment (ω = .93) and passion (ω = .86). The overall results offer sufficient valid evidence and suggest that the scale can be used in further studies. However, its effectiveness should still be tested in different regions of Peru.