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TEMIR - A test to measure existential motivations in interpersonal relationships: Factorial structure, reliability, and validity
The aim of our study was to develop a new measure of existential fulfilment in interpersonal relationships, operationalizing Längle’s theory of the four existential fundamental motivations. Using expert procedures, we developed a pool of 80 items and investigated its structure in a Russian-speaking sample (N=634). We used exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis to select 3 indicator items for each of the 3 prerequisites of each of the 4 fundamental existential motivations. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a hierarchical structure of the 36-item set with 12 first-order factors and 4 second-order factors. Each of the 12 subscales and the 4 scales demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s alphas > 0.80). The scales of the questionnaire allowed to differentiate between relationships self-reported as “successful” and “unsuccessful”, and exhibited statistically significant correlations with two measures of general existential fulfilment, Existence Scale (Längle, Orgler, Kundi, 2000) and Test of Existential Motivations (Eckhardt, 2000). Path analysis (conducted using Mplus 7.11 software) indicated that fulfilment of the 3rd and the 4th fundamental motivations (Authenticity and Meaning, respectively) in relationships was the most essential to general existential fulfilment. We also investigated the differences in the experience of relationships across gender and relationship types (i.e., “free” relationship, unregistered marriage, official marriage). The results indicated that females tended to report more positive experiences of relationship. The difference in the relationship types reflecting the degree of personal commitment in a relationship was a stronger predictor of perceived fulfilment, compared to gender. We propose to use the Test of Existential Motivations in Interpersonal Relationships (TEMIR) as a new Russian-language research instrument and discuss potential future research avenues.