Page 54 - JCBP-3-2

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Interpersonal relationship rating scale

connections established between individuals through perceived social support and interpersonal relationships.
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dynamic interactions, serving as a relatively stable These findings suggest that empathy and self-esteem
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emotional accumulation and bond that forms through are closely related to an individual’s interpersonal
communication. Individuals gradually establish and relationships. 10-12 However, the current instruments
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develop their interpersonal relationships as they engage measure a certain aspect of interpersonal relationships
emotionally and interact more deeply, usually progressing through a single dimension of empathy and self-esteem.
through four stages: the orientation stage, emotional Considering the significance of interpersonal
exploration stage, emotional communication stage, and relationships to an individual’s physical and mental
stable communication stage. As relationships deepen, health and social adjustment, there is a critical need for
mutual trust increases and the degree of emotional comprehensive assessment tools that evaluate the overall
involvement becomes more significant. 4
status of interpersonal relationships, identify the presence
Various methods have been employed to evaluate of distress within interpersonal relationships, and guide
interpersonal relationships, including sociometric effective intervention strategies. Previous research on
methods, reference measures, and Bell’s measures, interpersonal relationship scales has predominantly
among others. A range of questionnaires has been focused on measuring specific dimensions or verifying the
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developed, each with a different theoretical focus, to reliability and validity of existing scales. There is a lack of
measure interpersonal relationships across diverse groups. comprehensive, multidimensional tools that incorporate
Researchers have concentrated on measuring different various dimensions of interpersonal relationships. In
aspects of interpersonal relationships. For example, the addition, most existing scales are designed to diagnose
Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), developed by Davis, interpersonal distress, such as the Interpersonal
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measures empathy based on multidimensional theoretical Relationships Comprehensive Diagnostic Scale compiled
constructs. The IRI consists of 22 items scored on a by Zheng and the Interpersonal Circumplex Scale revised
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5-point scale ranging from 0 (completely inconsistent) to 4 by Hao. These tools do not provide a comprehensive and
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(completely consistent) and is divided into four subscales: effective measure of the general status of an individual’s
viewpoint selection, imagination, empathetic concern, and interpersonal relationships.
personal sadness. The Interpersonal Trust Scale (ITS),
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developed by Rotter, is widely used to measure trust within Therefore, the current study builds on established
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interpersonal relationships. The ITS was first translated into theories and scales of interpersonal relationships,
Chinese by Dai and subsequently validated and revised by focusing on five dimensions: general social competence,
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Xu and Ding and Peng among college students and adults empathetic support, interpersonal trust, self-esteem
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from various professions, demonstrating good reliability level, and heterosexual interactions. The goal is to
and effectiveness for evaluating individual trust. However, develop a comprehensive, multidimensional, and reliable
the ITS focuses on a single dimension of measurement, interpersonal relationship assessment scale from a
limiting its ability to capture the comprehensive status of psychological perspective.
individual interpersonal relationships. 2. Method
In Chinese culture, there is a strong emphasis on
establishing and maintaining “relationships,” with 2.1. Participant
empathy regarded as a key ability. Empathy refers to This study was conducted in two stages (Figure 1):
putting oneself in another person’s position, identifying • Stage 1: For the preliminary measurement, the
with and understanding their situation and feelings, and questionnaire was distributed through a Quick
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plays an enormous role in interpersonal interaction. At Response code on the Questionnaire Star platform. A
the same time, interpersonal trust is an important topic total of 500 responses were collected. Questionnaires
in the process of building and maintaining interpersonal that were completed too quickly or contained identical
communication and relationships. Studies have shown that answers were considered invalid and excluded,
interpersonal trust among college students fully mediates resulting in 461 valid responses, with a validity rate of
the effect of warm parental upbringing on interpersonal 92.20%. The sample included 178 males (38.61%) and
distress in dormitory settings. In addition, previous 283 females (61.39%), with participants ranging in age
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research has identified self-esteem as a significant predictor from 14 to 70 years (mean age = 34.86 ± 13.09 years).
of interpersonal relationships, with findings indicating that • Stage 2: The second stage involved two separate
the self-esteem levels of high school freshmen negatively samples. First, 617 questionnaires were collected
predict their interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, from a secondary vocational school in Nanjing
self-esteem partially mediates the relationships between using convenience sampling. After excluding invalid

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 48 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.3625