Internal consistency and accuracy of Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-40) in mothers of healthy children and those with a medical history

Abstract

Introduction and objective. The aim of the study was assessment of the internal consistency and accuracy of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-40 v. GP (ISEL-40 v. GP) in a group of mothers of healthy children and in a group of mothers of children with a medical history, and presentation of the initial research results. Materials and method. A group of 230 mothers were involved in the research: 57 mothers of healthy children, 26 mothers of infants with a perinatal medical history, as well as 147 mothers of hospitalized children. The method of a diagnostic survey with standardized tools, such as the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-40 v. GP), Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and the authors' own questionnaire was utilized. Results. Analysis of the research results suggests satisfactory internal consistency of the ISEL-40 v. GP in the researched group (α=0.86). It was also noticed that internal consistency of the subscales varied. The subscales of tangible support (α=0.79) and belonging support (α=0.73) obtained acceptable values. Internal consistency of self-esteem support (α=0.51) and appraisal support (α=0.62) was too low to be recommended for individual and scientific use. An attempt to modify the number of items did not come up to expectations in terms of the subscales internal consistency. Social support in mothers of healthy and ill children was moderate (29.92-33.45 points) and no statistically significant differences in their perception of the support were observed. Conclusions. In the research on a group of mothers of healthy and ill children it is recommended to use only a social support indicator based on the general result of the ISEL-40 v. GP. Further research aimed at verification of the theoretical structure of the Polish version of the ISEL-40 v. GP is advised.

Mixed-methods study exploring health service access and social support linkage to the mental well-being of Canadian Indigenous pregnant persons during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The ISEL is a 12-item questionnaire that evaluates general support received from a broader network, including friends and family 56. Reliability for the ISEL has been demonstrated in a cohort of mothers from a general population, with alpha (a=0.8657).…”

Self-Rated Health and Pain Problems in Mothers of Healthy Children or Children Requiring Outpatient Observation or Hospitalisation: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study

“…It is designed to estimate the potential possibility of gaining social support as envisaged by the respondents. The original version of ISEL 40 v. GP has 4 10-item subscales: tangible support, appraisal support, self-esteem support, and belonging support [ 51 , 52 , 53 ]. Due to the nature of the research and the low internal consistency of the subscales in the study group, it was decided to use only the total score.…”

Developing the Situated Assessment Method (SAM²) to assess social connectedness and social support

“…Each subscale consists of 10 items such as, "I often meet and talk with family or friends". The ISEL has demonstrated high test reliability overall (α=0.86; Aftyka et al, 2019), but the internal consistency for each subscale varies and so they are not recommended for individual analyses.…”