ERIC Number: EJ914771
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2002-Mar
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0361-6843
EISSN: N/A
The Relational Health Indices: A Study of Women's Relationships
Liang, Belle; Tracy, Allison; Taylor, Catherine A.; Williams, Linda M.; Jordan, Judith V.; Miller, Jean Baker
Psychology of Women Quarterly, v26 n1 p25-35 Mar 2002
A new measure of women's relationships, the Relational Health Indices (RHI), comprises three scales that assess growth-fostering connections with peers, mentors, and communities. The RHI was developed using the Relational Model (Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, Surrey, 1991; Miller & Stiver, 1997), a theory of women's psychological development. The 37-item measure assesses three conceptual dimensions of growth-fostering relationships: engagement, authenticity, and empowerment/zest. This study examined the psychometric properties of the RHI with a group of 450 students at a women's liberal arts college, providing evidence for the reliability, validity, and utility of the new measure. The factor analyses confirmed a three-subscale structure: engagement, authenticity, empowerment/zest. The RHI's components generally demonstrate good overall internal consistency. Furthermore, associations between RHI scales and convergent validation scales were significant and in the direction hypothesized. Correlations with adjustment scales varied across the RHI components. The RHI has potential for enriching our understanding of important, subtle qualities and complex dynamics of both dyadic and group relationships, especially among women. The instrument is available for use by researchers interested in continuing the scale and theory development. (Contains 3 figures and 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Females, Foreign Countries, Psychometrics, Interpersonal Relationship, Peer Relationship, Mentors, Psychological Patterns, Empowerment, Participation, College Students, Test Reliability, Test Validity, Factor Analysis, Community, Friendship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale; UCLA Loneliness Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A