The RCI is an interviewer assessed measure designed to assess competence among adolescents regardless of romantic relationship status. Results indicated that the RCI demonstrated adequate reliability and validity; the broad assessment of romantic competence appears reliable and valid, and useful in predicting important romantic experiences and sexual behaviors. Regarding reliability, interviewers coded the RCI with a reasonable level of consistency, rarely disagreeing by more than a 1-point difference, indicating that raters did not view the competence scale in radically different ways. Convergent and discriminate validity were evidenced in associations with the other competence measures and with relationship security. Importantly, the RCI was associated with the competence measures, but only modestly, indicating that the definition of romantic competence is distinct from more general interpersonal and hetero-social competence. This is important from a construct as well as a measurement perspective. Romantic competence as presently defined is a unique construct adding further support for conceiving and studying adolescent romance separately from other aspects of adolescent peer functioning. In addition, the RCI is not redundant, with existing measures supporting its utility. Data were collected from 83 early adolescent girls who participated with their primary caregiver in a larger project on relationships. Tables, appendix, and references