Short Version of the Inventory of Parental Representations for Attachment Assessment Among Adolescents

Background: The Inventory of Parental Representations (IPR), a self-administered questionnaire, was developed primarily to identify styles of attachment in adolescence. However, it did not present stable psychometric properties in the various American studies carried out. The aim of this study was to adapt the IPR in French and to provide a shorter version with improved psychometric properties and a sound content.Methods: The content validity was carried out by an expert committee and 10 adolescents. The study of the metric properties of the French version of the IPR was realized in a sample of 275 responses. In case of mediocre results in the CFA of the existing structures, the development of a new IPR structure was planned (Classical Test Theory and Rasch Modelling).Results: Out of 62 items translated, 13 needed adaptation. The analysis of its metric properties produced mediocre results. In a group of 275 adolescent’s responses, a step-by-step process was implemented. Content and psychometric property analyses generated a paternal Short-IPRF (15 items) and a maternal Short-IPRM (16 items) scale with sound content and good psychometric properties confirmed in an independent sample of 795 responses (Short-IPRF: Comparative Fit Index (CFI)=0.987, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI)=0.982, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)=0.027; Short-IPRM: CFI=0.953, TLI=0.927, RMSEA=0.068). Using Rasch modelling, the attachment was correctly measured overall especially for insecure attachment. Conclusions: A step-by-step process involving both content analysis and psychometric property analysis led to the generation of two questionnaires, a paternal scale, the Short-IPRF, and a maternal scale, the Short-IPRM.