Preliminary validation and reliability of the Test of Object Relations in sample of Croatian students

Preliminary validation of the Test of Object Relations in a sample of Croatian studentsGREGOR ŽVELC and TIJANA BERLAFAThe article describes preliminary validation of the Croatian version of the Test of Object Relations (TOR).The test was developed by G. Žvelc as a self-rating instrument for measuring the quality of object relations.The test measures three dimensions (Dependence, Alienation and Self-Absorption) and six sub-dimensions of object relations (Symbiotic Merging, Separation Anxiety, Narcissism, Egocentricity, Fear of Engulfment and Social Isolation).This test and Experiences in Close Relationship Scale were administered to a sample of 254 Croatian students from different faculties, of which 125 were males.Internal scale consistency is comparable to the results obtained from the Slovene sample.Principal components analysis supported the three main dimensions of object relations and five sub-dimensions.The results did not confirm Symbiotic Merging as a separate sub-dimension.Results of the principal components analysis suggest that the questionnaire in its present form includes items with low factor loadings and loadings on more than one dimension.The above findings suggest that the questionnaire can be shortened.This test correlates in a predictable way with attachment dimensions in adulthood.The main limitation of the preliminary study is a relatively small sample size.Further research on different samples is proposed, especially on a sample of psychiatric patients.