Preliminary Psychometric Evaluation of The Sound Relationship House Questionnaire Among Individuals in Dual-Income Marriages

Abstract

The Sound Relationship House Questionnaire (SRHQ) developed by Gottman and Gottman, is a self-report measure, its purpose is to assess key relational processes within couple relationships based on Sound Relationship House (SRH) theoretical model. This pilot study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the SRHQ among married individuals in dual-income households in India. The SRHQ consist of five clusters, namely, Friendship and Intimacy, Shared Meaning, Sex, Romance and Passion, Conflict Processes and Conflict Management. Through purposive sampling 41 participants were selected and data was collected using SRHQ-Short Form, Marital Adjustment Inventory and Personal data schedule.  Internal consistency reliability was assessed by computing Cronbach’s alpha, as normality assumptions were violated (Shapiro–Wilk, p < .05), convergent validity was examined through Spearman’s rank-order correlations between SRH clusters and marital adjustment. All statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 21. All the five clusters demonstrated acceptable internal consistency ranging from .69 to .92. The SRH clusters Friendship and Intimacy, Shared Meaning, and Sex, Romance and Passion were positively correlated with marital adjustment, whereas Conflict Processes showed a negative correlation, the direction of correlation is consistent with SRH theoretical model. However, Conflict Management was not significantly correlated. The feedback collected from participants indicate preliminary endorsement regarding the item relevance and cultural appropriateness. These findings provide preliminary evidence of the reliability and validity of the SRH clusters in this context; however large-scale studies are required to examine the factorial structure and broader generalizability.