The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) measures the perceived availability of four functions of support (tangible, belonging, self-esteem, and appraisal support) as well as provides an overall support score. This measure assesses the availability of social resources, with tangible support referring to the availability of material aid, belonging support referring to the availability of people to do things with, self-esteem support referring to a positive perception of one’s self, and appraisal support referring to the availability of a person to discuss one’s problems with.
Measures Registry
Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL)
Description
Purpose
The ISEL offers a method to evaluate one's perception of the social support available to them via four functions of support: tangible, belonging, self-esteem, and appraisal support.
Population
Adults
Year of Publication
1983
Reference
Cohen, S., & Hoberman, H. M. (1983). Positive events and social supports as buffers of life change stress. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 13(2), 99-125. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1983.tb02325.x
Number of Items
48
Scale Types (Likert=Likert Type; MC=Multiple Choice; T/F=True/False; OR=Open Response)
True/False
Subscales
Tangible Support Scale
Belonging Support Scale
Appraisal Support Scale
Self-Esteem Support Scale
Scoring
The ISEL is formatted so the first 6 items within each subscale indicate social support if the respondent chooses "true", while the remaining items indicate social support if the respondent chooses "false." Each subscale is summed separately. Greater positive social support responses indicate greater interpersonal support.
Administration
Self-Administered
Readability/ Literacy Level
N/A
Reliability
Previous studies referenced in the article found that the ISEL demonstrated an internal reliability of 0.77. The tangible scale demonstrated an internal reliability of 0.71, the belonging scale demonstrated an internal reliability of 0.75, the self-esteem scale demonstrated an internal reliability of 0.60, and the appraisal scale demonstrated an internal reliability of 0.77. Additional information can be found in Table 3 of the source article.
Validity
Previous studies referenced in the article found that the ISEL was moderately correlated with a previously validated measure of past support, the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors. This correlation was found to be 0.46, demonstrating moderate construct validity of the ISEL.
Limitations
Perceived social support can also be related to social skills or introversion-extroversion, which are not assessed by the ISEL or other measures described in the source article. Additionally, the university student population used in the research study may limit the generalizability of findings to other populations.
Availability
Publicly Available
Cost
Free
Other Considerations
N/A