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+Inventory of Socially Supportive Behavior (ISSB)

Barrera (1981)

Topic: Social Support - General Social Support Skills

Description of measure: 

The Inventory of Social Supportive Behaviors (ISSB) is a 40-item self-report measure that was designed to assess how often individuals received various forms of assistance during the preceding month.

Instructions: 

We are interested in learning about some of the ways that you feel people have helped you or tried to make life more pleasant for you over the past four weeks.  Below you will find a list of activities that other people might have done for you, to you, or with you in recent weeks.  Please read each item carefully and indicate how often these activities happened to you during the past four weeks.

Response options: 

Subjects are asked to rate the frequency of each item on 5-point Likert scales (1=not at all, 2=once or twice, 3=about once a week, 4=several times a week, and 5=about every day).

Use the following scale to make your ratings:

  1.   Not at all
  2.   Once or twice
  3.   About once a week
  4.   Several times a week
  5.   About every day

Please read each item carefully and select the rating that you think is the most accurate

SubItems: 

Notes: G = Guidance (Directive Guidance in Barrera & Ainlay, 1983)

      CI = Cognitive Information (in Stokes and Wilson, 1984)

E = Emotional support (Nondirective support in Barrera & Ainlay, 1983)

T = Tangible assistance

S = Social interaction (Barrera & Ainlay, 1983)

*The wording here is an abbreviated version of the actual item.

Items: 

During the past four weeks, how often did other people do these activities for you, to you, or with you:

  1. Looked after a family member when you were away. (T)
  2. Was right there with you (physically) in a stressful situation. (E)
  3. Provided you with a place where you could get away for awhile. (E)/(T)
  4. Watched after your possessions when you were away (pets, plants, home, apartment,  etc.). (T)
  5. Told you what she/he did in a situation that was similar to yours. (G)
  6. Did some activity with you to help you get your mind off of things. (S)/(E)/(CI)
  7. Talked with you about some interests of yours. (S)/(E)/(CI)
  8. Let you know that you did something well. 
  9. Went with you to someone who could take action. (--)
  10. Told you that you are OK just the way you are. (E)
  11. Told you that she/he would keep the things that you talk about private - just between the two of you.
  12. Assisted you in setting a goal for yourself. (G)
  13. Made it clear what was expected of you. (G)
  14. Expressed esteem or respect for a competency or personal quality of yours. (E)
  15. Gave you some information on how to do something (G)/(CI)
  16. Suggested some action that you should take. (G)/(CI)
  17. Gave you over $25. (T)/(G)
  18. Comforted you by showing you some physical affection. (E)
  19. Gave you some information to help you understand a situation you were in. (G)
  20. Provided you with some transportation. (T)
  21. Checked back with you to see if you followed the advice you were given. (G)
  22. Gave you under $25. (T)
  23. Helped you understand why you didn't do something well. (G)
  24. Listened to you talk about your private feelings. (E)/(S)
  25. Loaned or gave you something (a physical object other than money) that you needed. (T)
  26. Agreed that what you wanted to do was right. (E)
  27. Said things that made your situation clearer and easier to understand. (G)/(CI)
  28. Told you how he/she felt in a situation that was similar to your. (G)/(CI)
  29. Let you know that he/she will always be around if you need assistance. (E)
  30. Expressed interest and concern in your well-being. (E)
  31. Told you that she/he feels very close to you. (E)
  32. Told you who you should see for assistance. (G)
  33. Told you what to expect in a situation that was about to happen. (G)/(CI)
  34. Loaned you over $25. (T)/(G)(S)/(E)/(CI)
  35. Taught you how to do something. (G)
  36. Gave you feedback on how you were doing without saying it was good or bad. (G)/(CI)
  37. Joked and kidded to try to cheer you up.  (S)/(CI)
  38. Provided you with a place to stay. (T)
  39. Pitched in to help you do something that needed to get done. (T)
  40. Loaned you under $25.

Item Generation

Ideas for items came from a variety of articles (Asser, 1978; Brim, 1974; Caplan, 1976; Hirsch, 1980), but Gottlieb's (1978) content analysis of interviews with single mothers proved to be particularly valuable source for items.  Three principles guided the selection and writing of items:  (a) behavioral specificity was emphasized to reduce the need for subjective inferences, (b) wording that would limit the applicability of items to specific populations was avoided (e.g., helped me study for  an exam), and (c) explicit references to states of psychological adjustment were omitted (e.g., helped me feel less depressed).

Citation: 

Barrera, M., Jr. (1981). Social support in the adjustment of pregnant adolescents:  Assessment Issues.  In B.H. Gottlieb (Ed.), Social networks and social support in community mental health, (pp. 69-96).  Beverly Hills: Sage. http://dx.doi.org/10.13072/midss.108 Links to an external site..

Link to Google Doc: http://www.midss.org/sites/default/files/manuel_barrera_issb_scale__documentation.doc Links to an external site.

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