A new measure for an important construct: the attachment and object relations inventory

This article describes the development of the Attachment and Object Relations Inventory (AORI). The AORI, a dimensional measure based on factor structure, was developed in response to the psychometric problems typical to attachment style measures that are categorical in nature. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were high. A factor analysis of the 75 AORI items confirmed the existence of at least 6 factors and explained approximately 50% of the item variance. Convergent and discriminant validity of the AORI was supported through appropriate relationships with measures of depression, anxiety, and personality, and other measures of attachment and object relations.