Measuring the Capacity to Love: Development of the CTL-Inventory

Abstract

Objective: The individual capacity to love (CTL) has been linked to various mental health parameters and is considered to be an important outcome parameter of psychotherapeutic treatment. However, empirical examinations of the concept have not been conducted up to now. The aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of CTL [Capacity to Love Inventory (CTL-I)] as a trait of personality, which is shown to be related to clinically relevant symptoms and conditions.Method: Four independent healthy samples in Austria (n = 547, n = 174, and n = 85) and Poland (n = 240) were assessed by a prototype of the CTL-I and its final shorter version in a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency of the total questionnaire and each subscale was assessed by Cronbach alpha. External validity was measured against Beck Depression Inventory, Quality of Relationship Inventory, Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, Pathological Narcissism Inventory, and Narcissistic Personality Inventory according to the theoretical framework of the CTL concept. Further test–retest reliability was assessed.Results: The CFA confirmed 41 items in six dimensions: Interest in the life project of the other, Basic trust, Humility and gratitude, Common ego ideal, Permanence of sexual passion, and Acceptance of loss/jealousy/mourning. The Cronbach alphas of the total CTL-I and its subscales ranged between 0.67 and 0.90 in all samples, suggesting a valid construct. The CTL-I was moderately positively associated with quality of relationship (Support r = 0.63, Conflict r = -0.66, and Depth r = 0.66) and inversely associated with symptoms of depression (r = -0.37), pathological narcissism (r = -0.29) and promiscuity (r = -0.42). The test–retest reliability of the total CTL-I was high with r = 0.81, suggesting the stability of answers over time.Conclusion: The proposed 41-item version of the CTL-I is a psychometrically sound and validated instrument measuring six dimensions of the concept of the CTL. The reported negative associations with clinically relevant parameters such as depression, pathological narcissism and promiscuity as well as associations with relationship qualities such as conflicts, support, and depth warrant its future use in burdened populations including couples in clinical settings.

Italian Validation of the Capacity to Love Inventory: Preliminary Results

“…We tested the theory driven model developed by Kapusta et al ( 2018 ) by means of a CFA: a six-factor model with 41 items and scales being allowed to correlate with each other, in line with Kapusta et al ( 2018 ) results. Model fit was assessed by means of the following fit indexes: (1) the chi-squared (χ2) statistic and its degree of freedom; (2) the Standardized Root Mean Square Residuals (SRMR); and, (3) the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) and its 90% confidence interval (90% CI).…”

“…The Capacity to Love Inventory (CTL-I) (Kapusta et al, 2018 ), translated through the back translation process (Van de Vijver and Leung, 1997 ), is a 41 items questionnaire rated on a 4 point Likert Scale and composed of six dimensions: interest in the life project of the other (INT), basic trust (BRT), gratitude (GRT), common ego ideal (CEI), permanence of sexual passion (PSP) and loss and mourning (LOM). In the original version, Cronbach's alpha of the total scale is 0.90, whereas in the current study is 0.94; for the subscales values are 0.84 for Interest, 0.83 for Trust, 0.85 for Humility, 0.87 for Ego, 0.84 for Passion, and 0.85 for Acceptance.…”

“…Building on the theory of capacity to love (Kernberg, 2011 ), Kapusta et al ( 2018 ) have developed the Capacity to Love Inventory, which consists of 41 items with six dimensions (interest in the other, basic trust, gratitude, common ego ideal, permanence of sexual passion, loss, and mourning), with a good internal consistency in each subscale.…”

“…The present study aims at validating the Italian version of the CTL-I (Kapusta et al, 2018 ) using a CFA methodology in an Italian sample. To assess the convergent validity of the CTL-I, correlations with some measures were examined through Pearson's correlation coefficients.…”

Marital and love attitudes as predictors of Polish young adults’ relationship status

“…Regarding the importance of intimate relationships and the relationship status issues in the period of young adulthood, as well as the role of love for human health and survival (Kapusta et al, 2018), the present study was intended to reveal the possible correlates of relationship status among Polish young adults. Since prior studies demonstrated that marital attitudes may have important consequences for behaviors, decisions, and trajectories through young adulthood (Willoughby, 2014) and that attitudes toward marriage held by young adults may be considered to be indicators of their prospective decisions in the domain of family life (Bakiera, 2009), the current investigation focused on the link between marital and love attitudes and young adults' relationship status.…”