Adaptation of the Fear of Intimacy Scale

in Spanish population
Izquierdo-Sotorrío, E., Carrasco, M.A., & Gonzalez, E.
Fear of intimacy: “inhibited capacity of an individual, because of anxiety, to exchange thoughts and
feelings of personal significance with another individual who is highly valued”. Construct with 3 defining features: (1)
content, the communication of personal information; (2) emotional valence, strong feelings about personal
information exchange; and (3) vulnerability, high regard for the intimate other (Descutner & Thelen, 1991).

Aim: to examine the reliability and validity of the fear intimacy scale (FIS; Descutner & Thelen, 1991) in Spanish
population, and to explore the internal consistency and factor structure of the FIS.

Method
Sample(N=273) Procedure Instruments
Mean age 30.11 years (SD= 12.53) Fear of Intimacy Scale, FIS (Descutner & Thelen, 1991)
Translation of the scale

35% Accidental sampling Parental Acceptance - Rejection Questionnaire, PARQ-Mother & PARQ-Father (Short Forms; Ronner & Khaleque, 2005)

65%
Subjects completed scale individually Personality Assessment Questionnaire, PAQ (Short Form; Ronner & Khaleque, 2005)

Statistical Analysis Interpersonal Relationship Anxiety Questionnaire, IRAQ (Rohner, 2012)

RESULTS
FACTOR CORRELATION FACTOR II: RELUCTANCY TO INTIMACY (9 items)
F1 F2 F3 5- I might be afraid to confide my innermost feelings to my partner. .758
F1 1 23- I would be afraid of sharing my private thoughts with my partner. .722

Exploratory F2 -.602** 1 2- I would feel uneasy talking with my partner about something that has hurt me deeply.
1- I would feel uncomfortable telling my partner about things in the past that I have felt ashamed of.
.695
.648
Factor Analysis F3 -.310** .396** 1
12- I would find it difficult being open with my partner about my personal thoughts. .628
** p < 0.01. 11- I would probably feel nervous showing my partner strong feelings of affection. .587
15- I would be afraid to take the risk of being hurt in order to establish a closer relationship with … .503
4- If my partner were upset I would sometimes be afraid of showing that I care. .456
16- I would feel comfortable keeping very personal information to myself. .437
Explained variance for the three-
Explained variance: 15.08 % Eigenvalue: 5.28 α = .840
factor analysis: 41.75 %
Principal
Components
Extraction
FACTOR I: POSITIVA ATTITUDE TOWARD INTIMACY (15 items) FACTOR III: AVOIDANCE OF INTIMACY (5 items)
19-I would feel comfortable trusting my partner with my deepest thoughts … .678 35- I have done things in previous relationships to keep me from developing closeness. .763
22- I would be comfortable with having a close emotional tie between us. .661 31- I have shied away from opportunities to be close to someone. .759
Items which loaded in 33- There are people who think that I am afraid to get close to them. .719
27- I would feel comfortable about having open and honest communication with … .660
more than one factor 10- I would feel comfortable telling my experiences, even sad ones, to my partner. .660 32- I have held back my feelings in previous relationships. .640
Varimax were included in the 25- I would be comfortable telling my partner what my needs are. .651 34- There are people who think that I am not an easy person to get to know. .546
highest factor where its
Rotation load was higher and the
18- I would feel comfortable telling my partner things that I do not tell other people. .645 Explained variance: 8.95 % Eigenvalue: 3.13 α =.772
7- I would have a feeling of complete togetherness with my partner. .643
content was accordingly 21- I would be comfortable revealing to my partner what I feel are my shortcomings… .605
30- I would feel relaxed being together and talking about our personal goals. .603
6- I would feel at ease telling my partner that I care about him/her. .584
29- I would feel at ease to completely be myself around my partner. .544 Items excluded (loads below .41; when removed reliability tended to increase)
17- I would not be nervous about being spontaneous with my partner. .518 3 I would feel uneasy with my partner depending on me for emotional support.
Explained variance for
Psychometric unidimensional factor
3- I would feel comfortable expressing my true feelings to my partner. .512 20
26
I would sometimes feel uneasy if my partner told me about very personal matters.
I would be afraid that my partner would be more invested in the relationship than I would be.
14- I would not be afraid to share with my partner what I dislike about myself. .457
Properties analysis: 27.49 % 8- I would be comfortable discussing significant problems with my partner. .419
24 I would be afraid that I might not always feel close to my partner.
28 I would sometimes feel uncomfortable listening to my partner’s personal problems.
α =.911 Explained variance: 17.71 % Eigenvalue: 6.20 α = .898 9 A part of me would be afraid to make a long-term commitment to my partner.

PAQ
PAQ
Validity PAQ
Emotional
PAQ
Emotional
Emotional
Emotional
unrespons.
Evidences unrespons. unresp.
PAQ
PAQ
unrespons.

Negative PAQ
Total PAQ
self-esteem Negative
. 146* -. 181** . 198** Total . 200**
. 155* . 158** self-esteem
. 139* . 132*

Nomological network Unidimens. Factor I PAQ Factor II PAQ

Factor III
. 122* . 141*
among key Negative Hostility/
self- . 163 * * -. 199** PARQ-
psychological adequacy aggression PARQ- FATHER
-. 121* . 157**
constructs -.121* .127* . 145* FATHER Warmth/
affection
PARQ- PARQ-
MOTHER PAQ
FATHER
IRAQ IRAQ Warmth/ Negative
world views Indifferenc
affection e/neglect
* p  0,05; ** p  0,01

CONCLUSIONS
 3 factors were obtained by principal components (extraction method) and varimax rotation (orthogonal rotation).
 Compatibility with both tri-dimensional and one-dimensional structure.
 Goodness of psychometric properties:
- The internal consistency of the test, in both the whole scale and the factors, has shown prominent values.
- Criterion validity showed limited convergence, with significant correlations but low to moderate effect size. Correlations between emotional
unresponsiveness and each factor stand out.
 Descutner, C. J., & Thelen, M. H. (1991). Development and validation of a Fear-of-Intimacy Scale. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 3(2), 218.
REFERENCES  Rohner, R. P., and Khaleque, A. (eds) (2005). Handbook for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection, 4th Edn.Storrs,CT: Rohner Research Publications, 187–226. eva.izq@cop.es
 Rohner Research Publications (2012). Retrieved from http://rohnerresearchpublications.com/1.html