Instrument Description

The Inventory of Social Supportive Behavior (ISSB-61) is an assessment instrument designed to measure the social support an individual receives from their social environment.

The inventory consists of a series of items addressing different forms of supportive behavior. According to the source document, these include emotional support, practical assistance, guidance, and social integration.

Rather than focusing exclusively on whether a social network is available, the ISSB-61 provides information about the supportive behaviors an individual actually reports receiving. This approach allows researchers to examine the frequency and different forms of enacted social support available within an individual’s social environment.

Objective

The primary objective of the ISSB-61 is to assess and systematically record the social support individuals receive from their environment.

By documenting different forms of support, including emotional support, practical assistance, and social guidance, the instrument aims to provide a comprehensive representation of the social resources available to an individual.

According to the source document, this assessment may contribute to understanding the relationship between social support and mental health and may provide useful information for developing targeted interventions intended to strengthen social networks and individual well-being.

The results may also be relevant to the improvement of social welfare programs and the enhancement of support provided to vulnerable population groups.

Dimensions of Social Support

The source document identifies several aspects of social support addressed by the ISSB-61:

Emotional Support: Supportive behaviors involving emotional assistance and interpersonal support.

Practical Assistance: Concrete forms of help provided to assist an individual with practical needs or difficulties.

Guidance: Support involving advice, information, or direction from other people.

Social Integration: Support associated with an individual’s connection to and involvement within their social environment.

Together, these aspects provide a broader representation of the different forms of supportive behavior an individual may receive.

Scoring

The ISSB-61 consists of 61 items.

According to the source document, participants indicate how frequently they have received the supportive behaviors described by each item using the following five-point frequency scale:

1 = Not at all

2 = Once or twice

3 = Once a week

4 = Several times a week

5 = Every day

The scoring system therefore reflects the reported frequency of receiving social supportive behaviors.

Higher scores indicate more frequent receipt of the supportive behaviors assessed by the inventory, whereas lower scores indicate less frequent receipt of such support.

Data Analysis and Use

ISSB-61 responses can be examined to provide an overall representation of the amount and frequency of social support available to an individual.

Descriptive analysis may be used to summarize the frequency with which different supportive behaviors are reported. Individual items may also be examined to identify forms of support that occur more or less frequently within the population being studied.

The resulting data can contribute to investigating relationships between social support and other variables relevant to mental health, social functioning, and well-being.

According to the source document, ISSB findings may also be used to support the development of interventions intended to strengthen social networking and improve the availability of social support.

Applications

The ISSB-61 can be applied in research examining social support, social networks, psychological adjustment, mental health, and individual well-being.

Its focus on received supportive behaviors makes it useful for identifying the types of support individuals report receiving from their social environment.

According to the source document, the information obtained may also contribute to the development of targeted interventions, improvements in social welfare programs, and efforts to strengthen support for vulnerable populations.

Interpretation of Results

Interpretation of ISSB-61 results primarily concerns the frequency with which individuals report receiving different forms of social support.

Higher scores indicate that supportive behaviors are reported more frequently, whereas lower scores indicate that such behaviors are received less frequently.

The results can also be examined according to the different forms of support represented in the instrument, including emotional support, practical assistance, guidance, and social integration.

Interpretation should remain consistent with the frequency-based scoring system of the ISSB-61. The source document does not provide specific clinical cut-off scores or diagnostic thresholds.

References

Barrera, M., Jr. (1981). Social support in the adjustment of pregnant adolescents. In B. Gottlieb (Ed.), Social Networks and Social Support. Beverly Hills: Sage.

Barrera, M., Jr., & Ainlay, S. L. (1983). The structure of social support: A conceptual and empirical analysis. Journal of Community Psychology, 11(2), 133–143.

Barrera, M., Jr., Sandler, I. N., & Ramsay, T. B. (1981). Preliminary development of a scale of social support: Studies on college students. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9, 435–447.

Barrera, M., Jr., & Baca, L. M. (1990). Recipient reactions to social support: Contributions of enacted support, conflicted support and network orientation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 541–551.

Kaul, M. (1995). Psychological adaptation of mothers of children with congenital heart disease: The role of social support and social relationships. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.

Huckabay, L. M., & Tilem-Kessler, D. (1999). Patterns of parental stress in PICU emergency admission. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 18(2), 36–42.