Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Contemporary Family Therapy https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-019-09517-6 ORIGINAL PAPER Adaptation of the Couples Satisfaction Index into Russian Ilya A. Okhotnikov 1  · Nathan D. Wood 2 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract The commonly used double translation method fails to provide evidence for cross-cultural equivalence of instruments used in multicultural research thus increasing measurement error-variance. This study exemplifed the rigorous acculturation steps needed to negate this cross-cultural error-variance by verifying cultural appropriateness and psychometric equivalence between the instruments. Through application of a cutting-edge adaptation methodology, we created a Russian version of the 16-item Couple Satisfaction Index (CSI; Funk and Rogge in J Fam Psychol 21:572–583, 2007) that is semantically, idi- omatically, experientially, conceptually, and linguistically equivalent to the original scale. Next, using the data from 406 Russian-speaking respondents, we employed parallel and exploratory factor analyses to explore the factorial structure of the adapted version subsequently named CSI-16(Russian). Internal reliability and convergent validity with another measure used frequently in Russian scholarship were high. Additionally, results suggested that couples’ satisfaction—when assessed as a unidimensional phenomenon—is similar across the two cultures in spite of linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic difer- ences between the cultures. The CSI-16(Russian) can be used in comparative cross-cultural studies with sufcient assurance of high convergent linguistic reliability and psychometric similarity with the original CSI scale. Keywords Couples satisfaction · Cross-cultural · Eastern European families · Measurement · Psychometrics · Russian families Satisfaction in committed relationships has been a focal point for scholars, therapists, policy makers, etc., and is one of the most studied relationship research variables (Glenn 1998; Larson et al. 2010). Relational satisfaction, narrowly defned, refers to a person’s overall evaluation of their rela- tionship and is assumed to be a unidimentional construct ranging from low/poor/unsatisfed to high/very satisfed (Mattson et al. 2013). Some scholars have connected poor marital satisfaction with higher chances for relationship dissolution (Coontz 2007; Previti and Amato 2004) and subsequent negative efects on health and wellness of those terminating the relationship (Amato and Kane 2011; Carr and Springer 2010) and to negative educational, income, and relationship outcomes of their descendants (Amato 2000) up to three generations after the relationship dissolution (Amato and Cheadle 2005). On the contrary, satisfed and stable relationships have been linked to higher levels of personal well-being (Bryant and Conger 2002), social and personal life, including one’s physical and mental health (Bachand and Caron 2001; Heene et al. 2007; Hughes and Waite 2009; Williams and Umberson 2004), including military couples (Lewis et al. 2012), and the mental, psychological, and phys- ical health of the couples’ children and adolescents (Barrett and Turner 2005; Carr and Springer 2010; Sweeney 2007). While relational satisfaction has been found to be an impor- tant indicator of relational health in the United States, stud- ying satisfaction—or a culturally equivalent construct—in another country (e.g., Russia) may yield meaningful insights into another culture that could simultaneously give perspec- tive on US conceptualizations of satisfaction as well as pro- vide a foundation for cross-cultural studies. Russia, and its people in particular, would benefit from further research on relationship satisfaction. In 2002–2003, Russian divorce rates peaked (26.7 per 1000 marriages) and declined in 2010–2011 (22.0 per 1000 mar- riages), while the average marriage duration fuctuated from 9.7 to 10.5 years between 1970 and 2012 (Zakharov 2015). Furthermore, Russian scholars suggest that the * Ilya A. Okhotnikov iokhotnikov@mcneese.edu 1 McNeese State University, 4205 Ryan Street #92335, Lake Charles, LA 70605, USA 2 University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA