Marital Attitude Survey: A Measure of Dysfunctional Attributions and Expectancies

Abstract

The Marital Attitude Survey (MAS) was designed to assess potentially dysfunctional attributions and expectancies regarding relationship problems. The eight MAS subscales measure attributions regarding one’s partner’s malicious intent and lack of love, attribution of causality to one’s own behavior and personality, attribution of causality to the partner’s behavior and personality, perceived ability of the couple to change, and expectancy of change in the relationship. All subscales except the subscale assessing attribution of causality to own behavior exhibited adequate internal consistency and showed evidence of construct validity in relation to measures of marital dysfunction. Multivariate analyses indicated that considering subscales in combination increases the measure’s ability to discriminate between clinical and nonclinical samples. The results demonstrate the utility of the MAS as a measure of dysfunctional cognitions associated with marital distress.