Measuring romantic traits : development and validation of the romance quotient (RQ)

Abstract

Scales have been developed and validated to examine various components related to romantic love. However, none directly measures romance as a personal trait. The present study aims to address the research gap by developing and validating a brief scale, named the Romance Quotient (RQ), that measures varying levels of romantic traits. I started by reviewing relevant theories of romantic love and of state-trait, based on which the construct of romantic traits was conceptualised. Then, the initial, 29-item RQ was created. The factor structure was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis. Evaluation and subsequent item retention led to a refined, 16-item version of the RQ. The RQ exhibited good psychometric properties. External validations of the RQ with other scales were also conducted. Gender differences and group differences were explored. It was hypothesised that women would manifest higher scores of romantic traits than would men, that higher scores of romantic traits would associate with higher likelihood of being involved in a romantic relationship rather than being single, that the RQ would have good convergent and discriminant validity, and that the RQ would have a similar factor structure as the Triangular Love Scale. The results were partially supportive of the hypotheses. All other variables from external scales and demographics remained the nature of exploratory analysis. Strengths, applications, limitations, and future research directions were discussed.