ABSTRACT
Objective
To advance research on close relationships, the present study provides a comprehensive psychometric evaluation of the 3-item Relationship Satisfaction Scale from the Perceived Relationship Quality Components (PRQC) inventory and assesses differences in relationship satisfaction across eight culturally and demographically diverse regions.
Background
Romantic relationships are among the most important social relationships humans form. The quality of these relationships shapes many aspects of life, ranging from everyday mood and behavior to health, long-term habits, longevity, and overall life satisfaction. Consequently, the scientific study of romantic relationship quality is of substantial importance.
Method
Data from 49,876 participants recruited across 149 countries and territories were analyzed. Item-level properties, factor structure, item response theory (IRT) parameters, and measurement invariance, using both traditional approaches and the alignment method, across 37 linguistic versions of the scale were examined. Mean levels of relationship satisfaction were compared across major cultural and geographic regions using a two-level linear mixed-effects framework.
Results
The findings indicate that the scale is reliable and broadly comparable across culturally diverse samples. All translated versions are publicly available on OSF (https://osf.io/47q6d). The results revealed cross-regional and cross-country differences in relationship satisfaction, with individuals from the English-Speaking region reporting the highest levels, while those from Confucian and African-Islamic regions reporting the lowest levels of relationship satisfaction.
Conclusion
Together, these results offer a strong methodological and conceptual foundation for advancing research on relationship quality and provide researchers with robust tools for studying relationship-related constructs across diverse populations speaking 37 different languages.