A bifactorial approach to the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised scale.

The Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) scale has been argued to be the most robust measure of adult attachment to date. However, while previous authors propose that the ECR-R contains a 2-factor model of attachment with the factors representing anxious and avoidant attachment, none have considered a bifactor model of attachment (i.e., an overarching factor of attachment security, together with additional latent variables representing anxious and avoidant attachment) and several have applied, arguably unnecessary, data parcelling. In the current study, 911 participants completed the ECR-R and measures of several associated variables to assess differential predictive validity. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the bifactor model was found to be the best fit to the data. These findings have important implications for evaluating previous research which has used the ECR-R. The practical implications of these are discussed

Is self-disgust an implicit or explicit emotional schema?

Self-disgust, a negative self-conscious emotional schema that is associated with mental health difficulties in both clinical and non-clinical populations, is typically assessed with self-reported measures that target physical and behavioural aspects of the self. The aim of the present research was to develop and validate a novel implicit self-disgust measure (ISDM) using an Implicit Association Task (IAT) paradigm, across three studies. Study 1 developed a list of disgust-related and positive words that were rated for emotional valence and arousal and informed the content of the ISDM. Study 2 developed and examined the ISDM using the single-target IAT in a non-clinical population and showed that scores in the ISDM were significantly associated with self-reported self-disgust. Study 3 partly replicated the findings of Study 2 among participants with trauma-related experiences and following a mood induction paradigm, showing a significant association between the ISDM and the physical aspect of self-reported self-disgust. These findings are significant because they have implications about the automaticity of self-disgust in people with traumatic experiences which can further inform clinical practice and interventions targeting self-disgust