The Relationship Events Scale: A Guttman Scaling of Progress in Courtship

The Relationship Events Scale is presented as a self-report measure of courtship progress, reflecting increasing intimacy, interdependence, and commitment in dating relationships. The scale consists of 19 items marking the occurrence of specific events in dating relationships. Items are grouped in six levels to form a Guttman scale. The reliability of the scale is demonstrated by concordance of scores of both members of 55 couples. The concurrent validity of the scale is supported by substantial associations with the length of the relationship, the degree of emotional attachment, the expectancy that the relationship will be permanent, and the subject's classification of the relationship as casually dating, going steady, etc. Couples ranked higher on the scale were more likely to remain together at follow-up, five months later. The content of the six levels of the scale suggests a predictable sequence of stages that occur in the development of courtship relationships.