The RSQ contains 30 short statements drawn from Hazan and Shaver´s (1987) attachment measure, Bartholomew and Horowitz´s (1991) Relationship Questionnaire, and Collins and Read´s (1990) Adult Attachment Scale. On a 5-point scale, participants rate the extent to which each statement best describes their characteristic style in close relationships. Five statements contribute to the secure and dismissing attachment patterns and four statements contribute to the fearful and preoccupied attachment patterns (if you click on the above Relationship Scales Questionnaire link, the items that correspond to each attachment pattern are listed at the end of the measure). Scores for each attachment pattern are derived by taking the mean of the four or five items representing each attachment prototype.
In addition to obtaining the four-category model subscales of the RSQ (see below for the relevant items), the three Hazan & Shaver (1987) attachment styles can be obtained by simply going back to their original Adult Attachment Style measure and matching up the statements. Additionally, the three dimensions used by Collins and Read (1990) can also be obtained. Alternatively, and perhaps preferably, you can use the questionnaire to derive scales of the underlying two dimensions. This can be done two ways: 1) by conducting a factor analysis of the items or 2) by using the scores from the four prototype items to create linear combinations representing the self and other-model attachment dimensions. We recommend that you consult the Kurdek (2002) paper in JSPR which recommends the best approach for scoring the measure dimensionally.
Like the RQ, the RSQ can be worded in terms of general orientations to close relationships, orientations to romantic relationships, or orientations to a specific adult, peer relationship.
The RSQ is designed as a continuous measure of adult attachment. The RSQ was NOT designed, nor intended to be used, as a categorical measure of attachment. If, however, it is absolutely necessari for you to classify participants into attachment patterns, you must use standard scores. First, you would create the four subscales by computing the mean rating of the items for each subscale. Then you would transform those mean ratings into standard scores. This is a far from ideal use of the RSQ and should be undertaken only as a last resort!
