The Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test Reconsidered: Some Psychometric Findings as Regards its Reliability and Factorial Validity

Abstract

The Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test (LWMAT) continues to be used by researchers seeking to classify married couples as high or low in level of adjustment. Although it has been over twenty years since the emergence of this instrument, little subsequent evaluation of it has appeared in the literature. An examination of data from a representative sample led to three conclusions: (1) many of the original items are not necessary; (2) there is one underlying factor of “adjustment” in the test; and (3) the instrument also appears to be tapping a second factor related to social expectancy. Suggestions are made for alternative measures in research.