TABLE 2.
Final factor solution used in the full sample to derive the four factors of “we‐ness”. Based on 47 items taken from seven previously validated scales
| Item | Mean (standard deviation) | Range of responses | Factor 1 Couple identity (25 items) | Factor 2 Partner liking (10 items) | Factor 3 Relationship orientation (9 items) | Factor 4 Partner similarity (3 items) | Item‐total correlation a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDwithpartner4. I am glad to be in my romantic relationship | 6.26 (1.17) | 1–7 | 0.843 | 0.321 | 0.133 | 0.010 | 0.864 |
| URCS4. My partner and I have a strong connection | 6.12 (1.22) | 1–7 | 0.825 | 0.245 | 0.157 | 0.212 | 0.880 |
| IDwithpartner7. Being in my romantic relationship gives me a good feeling | 6.09 (1.25) | 1–7 | 0.809 | 0.292 | 0.194 | 0.067 | 0.849 |
| URCS1 My relationship with my partner is close | 6.12 (1.16) | 1–7 | 0.801 | 0.220 | 0.182 | 0.226 | 0.859 |
| IDwithpartner1. I feel a bond with my partner | 6.25 (1.07) | 1–7 | 0.800 | 0.220 | 0.135 | 0.138 | 0.826 |
| IDwithpartner6. It is pleasant to be in my romantic relationship | 6.07 (1.28) | 1–7 | 0.780 | 0.307 | 0.170 | 0.112 | 0.834 |
| URCS5. My partner and I want to spend time together | 6.17 (1.15) | 1–7 | 0.774 | 0.294 | 0.105 | 0.267 | 0.855 |
| IDaspartnered3. I am glad to be in a romantic relationship | 6.22 (1.12) | 1–7 | 0.766 | 0.339 | 0.097 | 0.033 | 0.805 |
| IDwithpartner3. I feel committed to my romantic relationship | 6.43 (0.92) | 1–7 | 0.761 | 0.252 | 0.071 | 0.066 | 0.771 |
| URCS10. My relationship with my partner is important in my life | 6.35 (0.96) | 1–7 | 0.758 | 0.307 | 0.150 | 0.069 | 0.802 |
| URCS6. My partner is a priority in my life | 6.19 (1.11) | 1–7 | 0.749 | 0.280 | 0.151 | 0.198 | 0.828 |
| URCS7. My partner and I do a lot of things together | 5.90 (1.33) | 1–7 | 0.705 | 0.148 | 0.228 | 0.206 | 0.769 |
| URCS3. My partner and I disclose important personal things to each other | 6.21 (1.08) | 1–7 | 0.704 | 0.126 | 0.102 | 0.127 | 0.704 |
| IDwithpartner5. I think that my partner and I have a lot to be proud of | 6.17 (1.15) | 1–7 | 0.694 | 0.288 | 0.203 | 0.001 | 0.738 |
| URCS8. When I have free time I choose to spend it alone with my partner | 5.75 (1.28) | 1–7 | 0.643 | 0.237 | 0.128 | 0.299 | 0.737 |
| URCS9. I think about my partner a lot | 6.02 (1.09) | 1–7 | 0.641 | 0.214 | 0.248 | 0.205 | 0.728 |
| URCS11. I consider my partner when making important decisions | 6.38 (0.92) | 1–7 | 0.634 | 0.299 | 0.094 | 0.062 | 0.681 |
| UCRS2. When we are apart, I miss my partner a great deal | 5.84 (1.34) | 1–7 | 0.616 | 0.185 | 0.173 | 0.261 | 0.689 |
| IDwithpartner8. I often think about my romantic relationship | 5.92 (1.19) | 1–7 | 0.595 | 0.240 | 0.220 | 0.070 | 0.655 |
| IDwithpartner2. I feel solidarity with my partner | 6.11 (1.11) | 1–7 | 0.593 | 0.323 | 0.217 | 0.178 | 0.704 |
| IDaspartnered2. I see myself as someone in a romantic relationship | 6.10 (1.19) | 1–7 | 0.582 | 0.140 | 0.120 | 0.080 | 0.595 |
| IOS: Degree of self/partner overlap | 5.23 (1.53) | 1–7 | 0.557 | 0.242 | 0.072 | 0.399 | 0.688 |
| IDwithpartner9. My romantic relationship is an important part of my identity | 5.77 (1.36) | 1–7 | 0.546 | 0.131 | 0.378 | 0.381 | 0.700 |
| IDwithpartner10. My romantic relationship is an important part of how I see myself | 5.65 (1.34) | 1–7 | 0.527 | 0.144 | 0.417 | 0.334 | 0.684 |
| IOS: Degree of self/relationship overlap | 5.17 (1.54) | 1–7 | 0.474 | 0.115 | 0.152 | 0.297 | 0.578 |
| Attraction9. I think that _____ is one of those people who quickly wins respect | 7.35 (1.73) | 1–9 | 0.250 | 0.790 | 0.174 | 0.094 | 0.800 |
| Attraction13. It seems to me that is very easy for _____ to gain admiration | 7.16 (1.78) | 1–9 | 0.216 | 0.720 | 0.224 | 0.190 | 0.763 |
| Attraction8. I would vote for _____ in a class or group election. | 7.23 (2.08) | 1–9 | 0.239 | 0.679 | 0.164 | 0.123 | 0.716 |
| Attraction6. Most people would react very favorably to _____ after a brief acquaintance | 7.61 (1.60) | 1–9 | 0.292 | 0.664 | 0.151 | 0.027 | 0.692 |
| Attraction5. I have great confidence in _____'s good judgment | 7.36 (1.78) | 1–9 | 0.399 | 0.659 | 0.204 | 0.215 | 0.800 |
| Attraction4. In my opinion, ______ is an exceptionally mature person | 7.07 (2.04) | 1–9 | 0.374 | 0.647 | 0.196 | 0.219 | 0.779 |
| Attraction11. _____ is one of the most likeable people I know | 7.46 (1.79) | 1–9 | 0.324 | 0.636 | 0.150 | 0.165 | 0.707 |
| Attraction10. I feel that _____ is an extremely intelligent person | 7.70 (1.61) | 1–9 | 0.337 | 0.625 | 0.070 | 0.092 | 0.683 |
| Attraction12. _____ is the sort of person whom I myself would like to be | 6.56 (2.19) | 1–9 | 0.331 | 0.593 | 0.264 | 0.416 | 0.753 |
| Attraction3. I would highly recommend ______ for a responsible job | 7.83 (1.68) | 1–9 | 0.237 | 0.563 | 0.145 | 0.030 | 0.606 |
| RISC7. In general, my close relationships are an important part of my self‐image | 5.27 (1.42) | 1–7 | 0.146 | 0.126 | 0.816 | 0.162 | 0.806 |
| RISC4. I think one of the most important parts of who I am can be captured by looking at my close friends and understanding who they are | 5.17 (1.42) | 1–7 | 0.101 | 0.163 | 0.784 | 0.090 | 0.768 |
| RISC5. When I think of myself, I often think of my close friends and family also | 5.31 (1.40) | 1–7 | 0.177 | 0.116 | 0.736 | 0.044 | 0.729 |
| RISC2. When I feel very close to someone, it often feels to me like that person is an important part of who I am | 5.63 (1.21) | 1–7 | 0.210 | 0.168 | 0.735 | 0.148 | 0.745 |
| RISC11. When I establish a close friendship with someone, I usually develop a strong sense of identification with that person | 5.18 (1.31) | 1–7 | 0.089 | 0.100 | 0.711 | 0.089 | 0.692 |
| RISC10. My sense of pride comes from knowing who I have as close friends | 4.63 (1.57) | 1–7 | −0.003 | 0.080 | 0.676 | 0.124 | 0.643 |
| RISC1. My close relationships are an important reflection of who I am | 5.69 (1.19) | 1–7 | 0.245 | 0.186 | 0.675 | 0.108 | 0.699 |
| RISC3. I usually feel a strong sense of pride when someone close to me has an important accomplishment | 5.93 (1.05) | 1–7 | 0.288 | 0.153 | 0.597 | −0.041 | 0.625 |
| RISC6. If a person hurts someone close to me, I feel personally hurt as well | 5.68 (1.26) | 1–7 | 0.117 | 0.133 | 0.526 | 0.033 | 0.539 |
| Attraction7. I think that _____ and I are quite similar to each other | 6.33 (2.24) | 1–9 | 0.286 | 0.320 | 0.213 | 0.650 | 0.714 |
| IDwithpartner12. My partner and I are very similar to each other | 5.22 (1.60) | 1–7 | 0.405 | 0.234 | 0.298 | 0.582 | 0.711 |
| Attraction1. When I am with ______, we are almost always in the same mood | 5.93 (2.02) | 1–9 | 0.257 | 0.213 | 0.157 | 0.462 | 0.518 |
| Items excluded from the final factor solution | Mean (standard deviation) | Range of responses | Reason removed |
|---|---|---|---|
| We‐talk | 0.04 (0.04) | 0–0.17 | Communalities indicated poor correlation with other items |
| IDwithpartner11. My partner and I have a lot in common with each other | 5.55 (1.34) | 1–7 | Cross‐loading on Factors 1 and 4 |
| IDaspartnered1. I identify with other people in romantic relationships | 5.11 (1.37) | 1–7 | Did not load onto any factor at 0.45 or greater |
| IDaspartnered4.I feel strong ties with others who are in a romantic relationship | 4.94 (1.50) | 1–7 | Did not load onto any factor at 0.45 or greater |
| RISC8. Overall, my close relationships have very little to do with how I feel about myself | 3.42 (1.92) | 1–7 | Did not load onto any factor at 0.45 or greater |
| RISC9. My close relationships are unimportant to my sense of what kind of person I am | 3.13 (1.87) | 1–7 | Did not load onto any factor at 0.45 or greater |
| Attraction2. I think that _______ is unusually well‐adjusted | 6.03 (2.21) | 1–9 | Did not load onto any factor at 0.45 or greater |
Note: Bold indicated factor to which each item was assigned (loading >0.45). N = 375.
Abbreviations: IOS, Inclusion of Other in Self scale; RISC, Relational‐Interdependent Self‐Construal Scale; URCS, Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale; IDwithpartner, Social identification with one's partner (Multicomponent In‐Group Identification scale); IDaspartnered, Social identification as a partnered person (Four Item Social Identification scale).
a
Item‐total correlation represents the correlation between each item and the sum of all other items included in the factor (1–4) to which it was assigned.