The German version of the Quality of Marriage Index: Psychometric properties in a representative sample and population-based norms

Abstract

The Quality of Marriage Index (QMI) is a 6-item internationally widely-used instrument assessing relationship satisfaction. This study aimed to evaluate (1) the psychometric properties of the German version in a representative sample of the German general population ( N = 1431) as well as (2) effects of gender and age on relationship satisfaction. All participants were in a relationship. The German QMI demonstrates good item characteristics and excellent reliability (α = .94). The proposed one-factor solution was replicated. Differences in scoring on the QMI showed that males scored higher than females and differences between younger and older participants were found. The findings suggest that the German version of the QMI is suitable to reliably measure relationship satisfaction and may therefore be used as a brief screening instrument in a variety of settings and research questions. A cross validation in a sample of couples seeking help for relationship difficulties should be considered in future research. The limited number of items and the one-factor-solution do not suggest this instrument as a fine-tuned assessment tool for different dimensions of relationship satisfaction.

Relationship quality and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown

“…The mean QMI score in our sample of M = 36.95 (SD = 9.11) was slightly, but significant lower compared to the data of a study from 2019 with M = 39.05 (SD = 6.43), which was performed at a population sample from Germany (t(1115.24) = -5.58; p < .001) [13]. It could be that relationship quality suffered during COVID-19 or that the sample recruited in Germany differs from our sample in confounders.…”

“…For ANOVAs, η 2 was used as effect size, which can be interpreted as follows: small (η 2 = .01 to .06), medium (η 2 = .06 to .14), and large (η 2 �.14). Moreover, t-tests for independent samples were conducted to 1) compare the QMI scores of our study with the QMI scores provided by Zimmermann et al [13] and 2) to compare the QMI scores for those coded as having good relationship quality vs. those coded as having poor relationship quality. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant (2-sided tests).…”

“…The Quality of Marriage Index (QMI) is a 6-item internationally widely-used instrument assessing relationship quality. The German QMI demonstrates good item characteristics and excellent reliability (α = .94), adequate psychometric properties and reliably measures relationship quality across gender and age [13]. The recommended cutoff score for the German version is 34 for male and women with a sensitivity of 88%, specificity of 85%, and Youden-Index J = .73 [13].…”

Psychometric properties of the German version of the Self Image Scale (SIS-D) in a sample of cancer patients

“…Participants were asked to answer the German versions of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9 [30]) and the General Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7 [31]) as measures of depression and anxiety along with the SIS-D items. They also answered the German versions of the Questionnaire on Stress in Cancer Patients revised version (QSC-R23 [32]) and the Quality of Marriage Index (QMI [33]) as measures of distress and relationship quality, respectively.…”

A Perspective of Husband and Wife Roles in Long-Distance Marriage

“…Some individuals make marriage the standard of someone's prosperity with an attachment between man and woman (Dolbik-Vorobei, 2011). A happy marriage will affect an individual's psychological and physical health (Zimmermann et al, 2019). A husband should treat his wife as a wife and vice versa.…”