Cultural Adaptation of the Relationship Quality Interview (RQI) for Mandarin-Speaking Chinese Couples: A Pilot Study

Research on couple assessments and interventions often overlooks cultural complexities, particularly when applying tools designed for one population to another. This omission is problematic because relationship dynamics may vary significantly across cultures, leading to different interpretations of what is considered pathological or normative. This study extends the use of the Relationship Quality Interview (RQI; Lawrence et al., 2008; Lawrence et al., 2011), a semi-structured interview of relational functioning, by assessing its cultural relevance with Mandarin-speaking Chinese couples. The RQI was first translated from English into Mandarin. Next, cultural adaptations were formulated through semi-structured interviews with seven Mandarin-speaking couple therapists (85.7% women; M _age = 31.33, SD  = 10.86). Language, content, and construct-level adaptations were suggested across the five RQI dimensions, to further improve the relevance, completeness, comprehension, and acceptability of this tool. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed. When working with Mandarin-speaking Chinese couples, clinicians are encouraged to focus on implicit messaging and indirect communication patterns, assess the comfort level of self-disclosure to foster relational harmony, and be mindful of the challenges associated with discussing sensitive topics such as sex.