Communication Patterns Questionnaire: expanding reliability and validity evidence

Patrizia Velotti

First

;Alessandra Busonera;Renata Tambelli;and Giulio Cesare Zavattini

2021-01-01

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Abstract

Several studies highlight the role of communication in couple’s functioning, specifically showing the need to examine communication during conflicts. The Communication Patterns Questionnaire (CPQ; Christensen & Sullaway, Communication patterns questionnaire. University of California, 1984; Christensen, Understanding major mental disorder: The contribution of family interaction research (pp. 250–265). Family Process Press, 1987; Christensen, Perspectives on marital interaction (pp. 31–52). Multilingual Matters, 1988) is a widely used self-report instrument to measure couple communication behavior. Despite the widespread use of the questionnaire in clinical and research contexts, questions remain about its psychometric properties. The current study examined the reliability and validity of an Italian version of the CPQ. The original English language CPQ was translated into Italian and then back translated for accuracy. The final Italian version of the CPQ was then administered to a sample of 456 married subjects (50% men and 50% women) together with other scales measuring styles of dealing with interpersonal conflict, dyadic adjustment and romantic attachment style. Exploratory factor analyses suggested a three-dimensional structure which were named Demand/ Withdraw, Constructive Communication, and Aggressive Communication. Internal consistencies were adequate and the hypothesized relationships with external concurrent criteria were overall substantiated. Implications for research and clinical practice are addressed.