Translation and Validation of Interpersonal Relationship Anxiety Questionnaire (IRAQ)

Measuring anxiety in terms of interpersonal relationship is important because of the intricate link between interpersonal relationship anxiety and parent-child relationships. This needs a valid and reliable measure to assess interpersonal relationship anxiety. The Interpersonal Relationship Anxiety Questionnaire (IRAQ) may compose such a measure. The present study was carried out to investigate the structural validity of the Urdu translated version of the Interpersonal Relationship Anxiety Questionnaire (IRAQ; Rohner Research publications, 2012) in Pakistani sample (N=300). The study comprised two studies. In study 1; the questionnaire was translated in Urdu Language. In study 2, construct validity and factor structure of translated IRAQ were estimated by performing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good indices of fit with a single factor i.e., “Interpersonal relationship anxiety” with an excellent alpha (α = .93). The discriminant validity revealed that IRAQ discriminates well between clinical and normal population. Evidence was found for both convergent and divergent validity: The measure was positively correlated with Personality Assessment Questionnaire and was negatively correlated with parental Warmth/Affection. It is concluded that Urdu version of IRAQ is a reliable instrument for assessing interpersonal relationship anxiety in clinical as well as non-clinical samples in Pakistan.