Questionnaire Analysis
The Relationship Attribution Measure (RAM-18) was first developed in 1992 by Fincham and Bradbury with the aim of assessing attributions for a partner’s negative behaviors in a relationship or marriage through six hypothetical negative behaviors.
Purpose of the Questionnaire
The RAM-18 was designed to study attributions for a partner’s negative behaviors in intimate relationships or marriage.
Scoring of the Questions
The questionnaire consists of 36 items focusing on six hypothetical negative partner behaviors. Responses are given on a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Participants are asked to imagine their partner exhibiting the described behavior and reflect on why their partner might have acted that way.
For each described behavior, there are six questions:
Three items assess attributions regarding the cause of the negative behavior.
Three items assess attributions of responsibility for the negative behavior.
Statistical Analysis
The RAM yields scores on two subscales:
Cause Attributions (RAM-C)
Responsibility Attributions (RAM-R)
Each subscale consists of 18 items (6 behaviors × 3 items per subscale), and scores are computed as the average of the corresponding items.
Validity and Reliability
The RAM has been adapted into Greek using the back-translation method.
Cronbach’s alpha for the Greek version is:
0.88 for the Cause Attribution subscale (RAM-C)
0.91 for the Responsibility Attribution subscale (RAM-R)
References
Authors: Fincham, F. & Bradbury, T.
Greek adaptation: Tsangarakis, M. & Stalikas, A.
Fincham, F. D., & Bradbury, T. N. (1992). Assessing attributions in marriage: The relationship attribution measure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 457–468.