Psychometric Evaluation of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List–Short Form in the ARIC Study Cohort

The impact of social support on health outcomes is well documented. The current study evaluated a short form of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-SF) administered to 14,257 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we attempted to replicate the subscale structure of the full-scale version. Additional analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of ISEL scores to key demographic variables, as well as the relationship with the Lubben Social Support Scale. We replicated the existing full-scale ISEL subscale structure in this short version. In addition, subscale scores were found to differ across gender, race, level of educational attainment, and marital status, although the magnitude of the various effects was modest. Correlations with another established measure of social support provide convergent validity for this abbreviated instrument. Results suggest this brief measure of perceived social support is a psychometrically valid instrument. An evaluation of its clinical utility is warranted.