The Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement (BARE) Scale: A Tool for Measuring Attachment Behavior in Couple Relationships

Keywords

Couples, Therapy, Attachment Measurement

Abstract

This article describes the purpose, reliability, validity, and potential clinical applications of the Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement (BARE) scale. In addition to focusing on the central attachment behaviors of accessibility and responsiveness, this instrument highlights the key role of engagement in couple bonding. The BARE is a short, systemic, self‐report measure of attachment behaviors in couple relationships. Both classical testing theory and Item Response Theory were used to test the psychometric properties of the instrument. The BARE demonstrated appropriate reliability and validity while maintaining its brevity and potential usefulness for clinicians and researchers. The BARE also accurately predicted the key relationship outcomes of stability and satisfaction. The data for this study were collected from the RELATE assessment (see www.relate-institute.org).

Original Publication Citation

*Sandberg, J.G., *Busby, D.M., Johnson, S.M, & Yoshida, K. (2012). The Brief Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Engagement (BARE) Scale: A tool for measuring attachment behavior in couple relationships. Family Process, 51, 512-526. (shared first authorship)

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2013-09-12

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5250

Publisher

Family Process

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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