Development and validation of the Emotional Dependence Scale (EDS)

Abstract

An instrument was designed and validated to evaluate emotional dependence (ED) in young Mexican population, taking as reference the CDE and the IDE. A total of 559 university students participated (50.1% women and 49.9% men), aged 17 to 26 years. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed the existence of seven factors, with adequate internal consistency values for the full scale (α = .92) and its subscales (α between .71 and .88). The scale showed concurrent validity with a dating violence scale (correlations between r = .304 and r = .602), and with a perception of social support scale (correlations between r = -.179 and r = -.397). It is concluded that the EDS is a valid and reliable scale to evaluate emotional dependence on the couple. Results point toward a useful resource for the measurement of this phenomenon in youth population.