Investment in the Relationship (Romantic)

What it measures

The scale assesses how much a person feels they have invested in a romantic relationship, drawing on established investment-model theory. Perceived investment is a key predictor of relationship commitment, making this subscale useful for research connecting consumer behavior to close relationships.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• I have put a great deal into our relationship that I would lose if the relationship were to end.
• Many aspects of my life have become linked to my partner (recreational activities, etc.), and I would lose all of this if we were to break up.
• I feel very involved in our relationship - like I have put a great deal into it.
• My relationships with friends and family members would be complicated if my partner and I were to break up (e.g., partner is friends with people I care about).
• Compared to other people I know, I have invested a great deal in my relationship with my partner.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

This is a subscale of Rusbult, Martz, and Agnew's (1998) established Investment Model Scale, used by Garbinsky et al. (2020) with married adults recruited via MTurk. The original authors demonstrated strong internal consistency along with convergent and discriminant validity for the broader investment measure; in this specific study it showed good reliability (α = .85). Validity wasn't separately reassessed by Garbinsky et al.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Garbinsky, E.N., Gladstone, J.J., Nikolova, H., & Olson, J.G. (2020). Love, Lies, and Money: Financial Infidelity in Romantic Relationships. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(1), 1–24.

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