BACKGROUND: Several methodologies were developed to validate psychometric instruments. However, there are, in the scientific literature, a lack of instruments to evaluate romantic relationship. OBJECTIVE: The present work aims at validating into Portuguese the content of the self-report Love Attitudes Scale (Escala de Atitudes do Amor - Hendrick et al., 1998), the Relationship Assessment Scale (Escala de Avaliação do Relacionamento - Hendrick, 1988), and the Adult Attachment Types (Tipos de Apego do Adulto - Hazan et al., 1987), taking the Brazilian cultural context into consideration, thus rendering the study of pathological love in the Brazilian population feasible. METHODS: Such process involved four stages: (1) translation into Portuguese, (2) back translation, (3) presentation of the translated version to mental health professionals and university students, and (4) application of the final version in a sample of the target population using a rating scale. RESULTS: The scales were easily understood and significantly discriminated individuals with pathological love and healthy volunteers. DISCUSSION: Our results show that the Brazilian version of these instruments is valid and may be used in investigations involving romantic relationships.
Love; scales; compulsive behavior; validation; translating
