RSQ
Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ)
The RSQ is a self-report questionnaire assessing sensitivity to interpersonal rejection. It presents 18 hypothetical situations involving significant or relationally relevant people (for example friends, parents, a teacher, a romantic partner, an acquaintance) and jointly measures anxiety about possible rejection and the expectation of acceptance. Initially developed with students and young adults, it helps the psychologist identify a relational vulnerability marked by the anxious anticipation of rejection, which is useful in exploring attachment difficulties, relationship conflicts and certain mixed anxiety-depressive complaints.
- Number of questions
- 18 questions
- Estimated duration
- 7 minutes
- Language
- English
- Original name
- Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire
- Target audience
- Young adults
- Authors
- Geraldine Downey, Scott I. Feldman (1996)
- Category
- Emotional dependency, Interpersonal issues, Anxiety
Scoring & interpretation
For each situation, score two responses on scales from 1 to 6:
(a) the degree of concern/anxiety about the outcome and (b) the likelihood of an accepting response.
Reverse the acceptance score to obtain the expectation of rejection using the formula 7 - acceptance score, then multiply this result by the concern/anxiety score for each situation.
Then calculate the mean of the 18 situation scores.
The overall score theoretically ranges from 1 to 36; the higher it is, the greater the rejection sensitivity. Interpretation is dimensional, taking the clinical context into account.
Available alternatives
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