The Marital Attitudes Scale: Assessing and Treating Ambivalent Clients

This article explores the complexities of the couple relationship commonly observed in the clinical settings of couple therapists. Whether described as the "push-pull" of the couple dyad, the mixed agenda couple, the couple that is leaning out versus leaning in, or the ambivalent couple, t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of divorce & remarriage 2017-08, Vol.58 (6), p.411-429
Main Authors: Hinson, Waymon R., Hargrave, Stephanie J., Northrup, Jason, Robertson, J. Michelle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambivalence
Attitudes
Behavior
Client relationships
Clinical training
Cognition
Cognitive aspects
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Commitment
Couple therapy
Couples therapy
Dissolution
Divorce
Emotions
Evaluation
marital assessment
Marital disruption
Measures
Psychological assessment
relational ambivalence
Reliability
Schemas
Self report
Therapists
Training
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Summary:This article explores the complexities of the couple relationship commonly observed in the clinical settings of couple therapists. Whether described as the "push-pull" of the couple dyad, the mixed agenda couple, the couple that is leaning out versus leaning in, or the ambivalent couple, the literature suggests that this dynamic is to be assessed and explored before fully engaging in relational therapy or pursuing separation or divorce. The Marital Attitudes Scale is a 48-item self-report inventory that was normed with a clinical and nonclinical population at 2 clinical training sites. The inventory adheres to a cognitive-behavioral theoretical orientation with 4 subscales and a total score that measure cognitions, emotions, behaviors, schemas, and total scores relative to the ambivalence or the absence of commitment in the couple relationship. The instrument uses the frame of preambivalent, or committed to the relationship; ambivalent, ambivalently committed to the relationship; or postambivalent, no longer committed to the couple relationship. The inventory has evidenced good validity and reliability and is considered to be a useful inventory for assessing the degree of commitment to the relationship when a couple engages in therapy. This article explores the development of the inventory, its cognitive-behavioral theoretical orientation, the literature around the theme of marital dissolution, the concept of relational ambivalence, and the interface between assessment and therapeutic engagement.
ISSN:1050-2556
2837-5300
1540-4811
2837-5319
DOI:10.1080/10502556.2017.1343543