Franco Ceasar M Agbalog and Shintaro Yukawa
University of Tsukuba, Japan
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Clin Exp Psychol
Statement of the Problem:
Resentment is the persistent
feeling that youâ??re being
treated unfairly- not getting due
respect, appreciation, affection,
help, apology, consideration,
praise, or reward (Stosny, 2011).
It is a negative emotional state
that combines annoyance,
anger, dislike or hatred, and
other negative feelings that
interferes with a personâ??s ability
to relate to another person
or situation. To date, there
is no published resentment
scale available in academic
databases. We believe that
developing a resentment scale
and evaluating its psychometric
properties are essential steps
that must be taken to enrich our
understanding of the dynamics
of resentment in intimate
relationships.
Methodology & Theoretical
Orientation: Three studies
involving a total of 844
individuals were conducted
to develop and validate the
Resentment Rating Scale
for Couples, a new measure
assessing resentment that
may exist in a relationship.
The studies examined the
dimensionality, internal
consistency, and construct
validity of the new scale.
Participants were all in a
long-term relationship,
either married, cohabiting or
boyfriend-girlfriend status.
Findings: The final instrument
comprised 13 items which had
adequate internal consistency.
Convergent validity of the new
measure was indicated by its
significant relationships with
Dorman Resentment Rating
Scale, the frequency of conflict,
and overall satisfaction and
happiness in a relationship. The
scale also discriminated from
anger, anxiety, and jealousy.
Conclusion & Significance: The
RRS-C seems to hold adequate
evidence of reliability and
validity. Nonetheless, it should
be viewed in the light of several
limitations such as the limited
variability of the samples and
the reliance on self-report
measures. Notwithstanding
these limitations, the
development of RRS-C
demonstrates a significant step
in developing a resentment
scale that provides a better
assessment on the status of a
relationship, especially of those
having issues in their marriage
and long-term romantic
relationships.
E-mail: francoceasar16@gmail.com
