Factor Structure and Convergent Validity of the Short Version of the Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire in Patients With Anxiety Disorder and Healthy Controls.

Uwe Altmann,Bernhard Strauss,Katja Petrowski,Katja Brenk-Franz

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.638644

Abstract

The short version of the Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire (BPEQ-12) assesses the partner-related attachment dimensions fear of rejection, readiness for self-disclosure, and conscious need for care. The presented study investigated the factor structure in two samples and evaluated the convergent validity of scales. The sample included N = 175 patients with panic disorder and/or agoraphobia and N = 143 healthy controls. Besides, the BPEQ, the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire (ECR), and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were assessed as well, and the Adult Attachment Prototype Rating (AAPR) was conducted. A confirmatory factor analysis of the three factor model (using a WLSMV estimator) revealed an acceptable model fit for the entire sample, patients and controls in terms of low RMSEA and SRMR (< 0.08) and high CFI and TLI (> 0.95). We found metric, scalar, and strict measurement invariance for the presence of anxiety disorder (ΔCFI ≤ –0.01 and ΔRMSEA ≥ 0.01). However, only for fear of rejection and readiness for self-disclosure the reliability was acceptable (Cronbach’s α > 0.7), and convergent validity in terms of large correlations (r > 0.7) with the ECR scales was found in both samples. The scale conscious need for care had a questionable reliability (Cronbach’s α > 0.6) and correlated only slightly with ECR-R scales. We conclude that fear of rejection and readiness for self-disclosure of the BPEQ-12 are reliable and valid scales for measuring partner-related attachment in healthy and clinical samples.

Highlights

The concept of the internal working model (Bowlby, 1973, 1983) is of central importance for the theory of adult attachment
In our secondary analysis, we considered only the 12 items of the short version of the Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire (BPEQ), which consists of three scales with four items each
The present study evaluated the factor structure and convergent validity of the short version of the Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire (BPEQ-12) in patients with anxiety disorder and healthy controls

Summary

Introduction

The concept of the internal working model (Bowlby, 1973, 1983) is of central importance for the theory of adult attachment. Research has shown that the development of attachment-specific internal working models of the self and others influence emotion regulation and interpersonal patterns in childhood as well as later experiences in close relationships (Mikulincer et al, 2003). A highly discussed topic is the measurement of adult attachment (Garbarino, 1998; Roisman et al, 2007; Jewell et al, 2019), which can be divided into classifications and dimensional models (Fraley et al, 2015). The different attachment instruments have no convergent validity or moderate at best (Shaver et al, 2000; Roisman et al, 2007; Jewell et al, 2019; Strauss et al, 2022). It is assumed that convergent validity is higher, the more the two instruments match regarding method, domain, and concept (Bartholomew and Shaver, 1998)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion