Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ; Griffin & Bartholomew‚ 1994).
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.
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 necessary 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!
Please read each of the following statements and rate the extent to which you believe each statement best describes your feelings about close relationships.
Not at all like me | Somewhat like me | Very much like me | ||||
1. | I find it difficult to depend on other people. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
2. | It is very important to me to feel independent. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
3. | I find it easy to get emotionally close to others. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
4. | I want to merge completely with another person. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
5. | I worry that I will be hurt if I allows myself to become too close to others. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
6. | I am comfortable without close emotional relationships. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
7. | I am not sure that I can always depend on others to be there when I need them. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
8. | I want to be completely emotionally intimate with others. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
9. | I worry about being alone. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
10. | I am comfortable depending on other people. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
11. | I often worry that romantic partners don’t really love me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
12. | I find it difficult to trust others completely. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
13. | I worry about others getting too close to me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
14. | I want emotionally close relationships. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
15. | I am comfortable having other people depend on me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
16. | I worry that others don’t value me as much as I value them. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
17. | People are never there when you need them. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
18. | My desire to merge completely sometimes scares people away. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
19. | It is very important to me to feel self-sufficient. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
20. | I am nervous when anyone gets too close to me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
21. | I often worry that romantic partners won’t want to stay with me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
22. | I prefer not to have other people depend on me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
23. | I worry about being abandoned. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
24. | I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
25. | I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
26. | I prefer not to depend on others. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
27. | I know that others will be there when I need them. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
28. | I worry about having others not accept me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
29. | Romantic partners often want me to be closer than I feel comfortable being. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
30. | I find it relatively easy to get close to others. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
http://www.sfu.ca/psyc/faculty/bartholomew/rsq.htm
Cite this article
mohammad looti (2026). Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/relationship-scales-questionnaire-rsq/
mohammad looti. "Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 25 Apr. 2026, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/relationship-scales-questionnaire-rsq/.
mohammad looti. "Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2026. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/relationship-scales-questionnaire-rsq/.
mohammad looti (2026) 'Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ)', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/relationship-scales-questionnaire-rsq/.
[1] mohammad looti, "Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ)," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, April, 2026.
mohammad looti. Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2026;vol(issue):pages.