Page 60 - JCBP-3-2

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Interpersonal relationship rating scale

The general social competence dimension refers to an of interpersonal relationships. Second, the age range
individual’s interactions with others and their positive of participants in this study spans from 14 to 78 years,
engagement in the group emotions and behaviors, such including adolescents, adults, and the elderly. This broader
as actively participating in activities and socializing with age range makes the scale applicable to a wider demographic
others. This dimension is consistent with the interpersonal compared to previous instruments, which often target
communication and friendship components of the specific age groups. Finally, this scale was developed within
Interpersonal Relationship Comprehensive Diagnostic the context of Chinese culture and language, making it
Scale, providing a more comprehensive assessment of an particularly suited for assessing interpersonal relationships
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individual’s general social status. in localized Chinese research.
Empathetic support measures an individual’s ability However, this study has some limitations. First, in
to spontaneously notice, understand, and respond to terms of sample representativeness, the study used random
the emotions and reactions of others in interpersonal sampling for Sample 1, which was tested nationwide,
interactions. It reflects a capacity for empathy and and convenience sampling for Sample 2, which involved
caring for others’ feelings. This dimension aligns with students from a secondary vocational school in Nanjing.
the Chinese Interpersonal Reactivity Pointer Scale and These differences in sample nature and size mean that the
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assesses an individual’s ability to empathize with others in scale’s results have not been fully validated across diverse
interpersonal interactions. populations and age subgroups. Second, despite assurances
The interpersonal trust dimension refers to the degree of anonymity and confidentiality, participants may have
of trust an individual has in others during interactions, been influenced by “social desirability” bias during the
including honest and reliable beliefs about others, as well response period, potentially affecting the objectivity of
as the willingness to rely on and trust each other. This the results. Finally, although the scale demonstrated high
is an important psychological quality in interpersonal discriminant validity, the internal mechanisms underlying
communication. In contrast to Rotter’s Interpersonal the relationship between anxiety, depression, interpersonal
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Trust Scale, which measures trust across interpersonal, relationships, and their dimensions remain unexplored.
political, and social domains, this dimension focuses Furthermore, the diagnostic potential of the scale has not
specifically on trust within personal interactions. been definitively established.
The self-esteem level dimension relates to the Future research should include a broader demographic
emotional experiences formed through self-evaluation, range to explore the scale’s performance across various
such as self-respect, self-appreciation, acceptance of one’s age groups and other demographic variables, ensuring its
own shortcomings, and correct perception of others’ applicability. In addition, efforts should focus on adapting
evaluations. It reflects how individuals position themselves and validating the scale across different cultural contexts
and interact within interpersonal relationships. This to enhance its generalizability. To control for social
dimension is consistent with the Interpersonal Adaptation desirability bias, future studies could incorporate indirect
subscale of the CCSAS by Fang et al. When individuals questioning techniques and validated social desirability
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manage their self-evaluations and others’ evaluations well, scales.
they tend to adapt better to interpersonal interactions. In Further research is needed on a representative sample of
summary, an analysis of each dimension’s meaning and the general Chinese population or specific sub-populations
comparison with existing scale structures suggests that to verify the diagnostic use of this scale. Moreover, studies
the four dimensions of this scale broadly encompass the should aim to elucidate the internal mechanisms underlying
comprehensive nature of interpersonal relationships and the relationship between anxiety, depression, interpersonal
offer a representative evaluation. relationship status, and the various dimensions of the
Compared with existing instruments, the scale scale. It is also necessary to propose effective measures for
developed in this study offers several advantages. First, it enhancing individual interpersonal skills, which would
comprehensively covers almost all aspects of interpersonal provide valuable guidance for clinical interventions.
relationships, including general social competence, 5. Conclusion
empathetic support, interpersonal trust, and self-esteem
level. This multidimensional approach addresses the The 18-item Interpersonal Relationship Rating Scale
limitations of other interpersonal relationship scales developed in this study was empirically verified to have
that focus solely on specific areas, such as interpersonal good reliability and validity, making it suitable for assessing
trust, opposite-sex interactions, or interpersonal interpersonal relationships at the individual level. However,
reactions, thereby providing a more holistic assessment it is important to consider that due to sample limitations,

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 54 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.3625