the Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure

Description

The Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure (Weigel & Shrout, 2025) was developed for a study examining factors leading to the use of information-seeking strategies employed to confirm or avoid suspicions about a partner’s potential infidelity. The measure is based on the work of Hanson Sobraske, Gaulin, and Boster (2014), which generated 24 items identifying behaviors causing concern about a potential rival. These items were adapted to the context of infidelity suspicions in romantic relationships. Weigel and Shrout (2025) converted the list into a measure, excluding three items that seemed to constitute some level of cheating. The resulting 21-item instrument was administered to individuals suspecting a partner’s infidelity. Exploratory factor analysis supported a one-factor structure, and reliability results were reported.

Purpose

The purpose of this measure is to assess a partner’s behavior that might suggest infidelity.

Validity

No data is Available

Reliability

Internal Consistency: α = .94.

Factor Analysis

Exploratory Factor Analysis: An exploratory factor analysis with promax rotation, conducted with the 21 items, initially resulted in three factors with eigenvalues over 1.0. However, the scree plot indicated one dominant factor, accounting for 51.6% of the variance. The second and third factors accounted for only 6.58% and 5.72% of the variance, respectively. Given the dominance of the first factor, it was selected as the measure of suspicious partner behavior.

Test Methodology

The test methodology includes:

• Test Reliability

• Internal Consistency

• Factor Analysis

• Exploratory Factor Analysis

Population Details

• Population Group: Human, Male, Female

• Location: United States

• Respondents: Individuals Who Suspected a Partner’s Infidelity

• Age Range: 18-47

Age Group

The scale is suitable for:

• Adulthood (18 yrs & older)

• Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs)

• Thirties (30-39 yrs)

• Middle Age (40-64 yrs)

Test Type

Original.

Instrument Type

Rating Scale.

Format

Respondents rate items on a scale from 1 (never) to 7 (all of the time) in terms of how often each item occurred in their current relationship. Higher scores indicate more reported suspicious behaviors by the partner. The administration method is electronic.

Language Available

English.

Keywords

Cheating; Romantic Partners; Suspicious Behavior; Infidelity. Index Terms: Cheating; Infidelity; Suspicion; Marriage and Partner Measures; Romantic Partners

Test Year

2025.

Author

Weigel, Daniel J.; Shrout, M. Rosie

Author ORCID Identifier

No data is Available

Affiliation

• Weigel, Daniel J.: University of Nevada Reno, Human Development & Family Science

• Shrout, M. Rosie: Purdue University

Email

Weigel, Daniel J.: [email protected]

files

No file is available

Permissions

Contact Corresponding Author

Fee

No

Correspondence Address

Weigel, Daniel J.: University of Nevada Reno, Human Development & Family Science, 4955 Energy Way, Reno, Nevada, United States, 89502, [email protected]

reference’s

Weigel, D. J., & Shrout, M. R. (2025). Are you cheating on me? Identifying factors contributing to the use of suspicion confirmation and avoidance strategies. Western Journal of Communication, 89(1), 108–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2024.2324382

items of the Partner’s Suspicious Behavior Measure

This measure consists of 15 items.