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Ambivalence Table of Contents
About Braiker & Kelley's Construct of Ambivalence
About Ambivalence
Most people experience ambivalence about relationships at some point. In some relationships, the doubts are very minor, especially in the opening phase of the relationship, when both partners may feel affection and happiness, but little sense of threat about investment and commitment. As a relationship moves closer to marriage, however, some people may begin to question the level of their commitment, and wonder if they really are "meant to be" with the partner. With our measure of ambivalence, we can understand a couple's state of mind as they are approaching commitment to marriage.
Braiker & Kelley's Construct
Braiker and Kelley represented ambivalence as feelings of confusion concerning the partner and anxiety about loss of independence. There are five items for this construct, as shown below. Respondents answered each question on a scale from one to nine, so that scores on the ambivalence scale could range from 5 to 45.