LOCKE-WALLACE MARITAL ADJUSTMENT TEST

Circle the dot on the scale line which best describes the degree of happiness, everything considered, of
your present marriage. The middle point, “happy,” represents the degree of happiness which most people
get from marriage, and the scale gradually ranges on one side to those few who are very unhappy in
marriage, and on the other, to those few who experience extreme joy or felicity in marriage.
● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Very Unhappy Happy Perfectly Happy

State the approximate extent of agreement or disagreement between you and your mate on the following
items. Please check each column.
Almost Almost
Always Always Occasionally Frequently Always Always
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree
Handling family finances
Matters of recreation
Demonstrations of affection
Friends
Sex relations
Conventionality
(right, good, or proper conduct)
Philosophy of life
Ways of dealing with in-laws

Circle one:
1. When disagreements arise, they usually result in:
(a) husband giving in (b) wife giving in (c) agreement by mutual give and take
2. Do you and your mate engage in outside interests together?
(a) all of them (b) some of them (c) very few of them (d) none of them
3. In leisure time do you generally prefer:
(a) to be “on the go” (b) to stay at home?
4. Does your mate generally prefer:
(a) to be “on the go” (b) to stay at home?
5. Do you ever wish you had not married?
(a) frequently (b) occasionally (c) rarely (d) never
6. If you had your life to live over again, do you think you would:
(a) marry the same person (b) marry a different person (c) not marry at all?
7. Do you ever confide in your mate:
(a) almost never (b) rarely (c) in most things (d) in everything?
 LOCKE-WALLACE MARITAL ADJUSTMENT TEST (Scoring Key)
Check the dot on the scale line which best describes the degree of happiness, everything
considered, of your present marriage. The middle point, “happy,” represents the degree of
happiness which most people get from marriage, and the scale gradually ranges on one side to
those few who are very unhappy in marriage, and on the other, to those few who experience
extreme joy or felicity in marriage.
0 2 7 15 20 25 35
Very Unhappy Happy Perfectly Happy

State the approximate extent of agreement or disagreement between you and your mate on the
following items. Please check each column.
Almost Almost
Always Always Occasionally Frequently Always Always
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree
Handling family finances 5 4 3 2 1 0
Matters of recreation 5 4 3 2 1 0
Demonstrations of affection 8 6 4 2 1 0
Friends 5 4 3 2 1 0
Sex relations 15 12 9 4 1 0
Conventionality (right, good, or
5 4 3 2 1 0
proper conduct)
Philosophy of life 5 4 3 2 1 0
Ways of dealing with in-laws 5 4 3 2 1 0

Check one:
When disagreements arise, they usually result in: (a) husband giving in 0 (b) wife giv-
ing in 2 (c) agreement by mutual give and take 10
Do you and your mate engage in outside interests together? (a) all of them 10 (b) some of
them 8 (c) very few of them 3 (d) none of them 0
In leisure time do you generally prefer: (a) to be “on the go” (b) to stay at home?
Does your mate generally prefer: (a) to be “on the go” (b) to stay at home?
(for the previous two questions: “stay at home” for both = 10 points; “on the go” for both = 3 points; disagreement = 2 points)
Do you ever wish you had not married? (a) frequently 0 (b) occasionally 3
(c) rarely 8 (d) never 15
If you had your life to live over again, do you think you would: (a) marry the same person 15
(b) marry a different person 0 (c) not marry at all? 1

Do you ever confide in your mate: (a) almost never 0 (b) rarely 2
(c) in most things 10 (d) in everything? 10
 LOCKE-WALLACE MARITAL ADJUSTMENT TEST

The Locke-Wallace Short Marital-Adjustment Test is a 15 item instrument, which as the test
name would suggest, purports to measure marital adjustment. The authors define marital
adjustment as “accommodation of a husband and wife to each other at a given time.” The
instrument first requests the examinee’s general impression of marriage happiness on a
continuum from “Very Unhappy” to “Perfectly Happy”. Then, additional specific statements
and questions are given to which the examinee is asked to respond.
Description:
This paper-and-pencil measurement consists of fifteen items. One is a global adjustment
question, eight are questions measuring possible disagreement, and six are questions of conflict
resolution, cohesion, and communication. The responses are weighted differently, according to
the amount of difference between groups of satisfied and problem couples (Freedman &
Sherman, 1987). Items were weighted to add discriminative power to them. Hunt (1978) found
that the weights had little effect on the relationship between adjustment scores and other
variables. Scores can range from 2 to 158.
Reliability:
When checked for internal consistency, r = .90 (Sherman & Freedman 1989). Spanler (1972)
reported a reliability coefficient found by Locke and Wallace by which they used the split-hair
technique corrected by the Spearman-Brown formula, indicating .90. In his re-evaluation,
Spanler found r = .77 by the inter-item formula of the Spearman-Brown correction. With the
Cronbach alpha, the r = .73. These lower correlations indicate a need to be cautious when
considering results.
Validity:
High discriminant validity is seen between the adjusted and maladjusted couples, with 17% of
the maladjusted couples scoring 100 or more, and 96% of the adjusted couples scoring 100 or
more (Freeman & Sherman, 1987). However, this scale correlates highly (.63) with Edmond’s
Marital Conventionalization Scale, indicating that couple are responding with socially desirable
answers—that their marriage is better than it is (Locke & Wallace, 1959). In any analysis of the
association between each individual item and the total score, couples showed great variability
(.37 to .77). This shows question in the relevance of the dimensions of the scale to contemporary
marriage. Another problem in validity is that people may interpret questions differently, due to
the ambiguity of the questions (Spanler, 1972).
Evaluation:
The one page MAT assessment and a pencil or pen is required to take the test. The instructions at
the top of the page are clear and concise. The test takes anywhere from two to ten minutes to
complete. The cut-off score for the MAT is 100. Scores above the cut-off indicate stability and
satisfaction in the relationship. Scores below the cut-off indicate marital or relationship distress.
References:
Locke, H., & Wallace, K. (1959). Short marital-adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability
and validity. Marriage and Family Living, 21, 251-255.
Freeston, M.H., & Plechaty M. (1997). Reconsideration of the Locke-Wallace Marital
Adjustment Test: Is it still relevant for the 1990s? Psychological Reports, 81(2), 419-
434.