Classification of social relationship measures
| Tool used | Number of items | Dimension 1: function vs structure | Dimension 2: degree of subjectivity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | Function | Involvement in relationships | Perceived availability | Perceived adequacy | Feelings/emotions | ||
| Berkman-Syme Social Network Index* | 4 | X | X | X | |||
| 11-item de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale* | 11 | X | X | X | X | ||
| 35-item Duke Social Support Index | 32 | X | X | X | X | X | |
| 11-item Duke Social Support Index | 11 | X | X | X | X | X | |
| 4-item Duke Social Support Index | 4 | X | X | X | X | ||
| Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire | 11 | X | X | X | |||
| ENRICHD Social Support Inventory (ESSI) | 7 | X | X | X | X | X | |
| Gijón Scale for the elderly's social-family assessment, family and social relationships subscales | 10 | X | X | ||||
| 12-item Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) | 12 | X | X | ||||
| Interview Measure of Social Relationships | Data not found | X | X | X | X | X | |
| Litwin Support Network Types | 7 | X | X | ||||
| 10-item Lubben Social Network Scale | 10 | X | X | X | X | ||
| 6-item Lubben Social Network Scale | 6 | X | X | X | X | ||
| Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Social Support Survey | 20 | X | X | ||||
| Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) | 12 | X | X | ||||
| Negative Affect Scale | 5 | X | X | ||||
| Nottingham Health Profile Social Isolation subscale | 5 | X | X | X | |||
| Older Americans Research and Service Center (OARS) Social Resource Scale | 7 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Oslo-3 Social Support Scale | 3 | X | X | ||||
| Personal Resource Questionnaire (PRQ2000) | 15 | X | X | X | X | ||
| University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale | 20 | X | X | X | X | ||
| Wenger Support Network Typology | 8 | X | X | ||||
| A measure of social isolation (LaVeist, 1997) | 2 | X | X | ||||
| A measure of social network (Mechakra-Tahiri, 2011) | 4 | X | X | ||||
| A measure of social anchorage (Rennemark, 2009) | 4 | X | X | ||||
| Questionnaire on social network (Rodriguez-Artalejo, 2006) | 4 | X | X | ||||
| Question about the number of sources of support (Tennstedt, 1993) | 1 | X | X | X | |||
| An index of social support (Lai, 2006) | 5 | X | X | X | X | ||
| A measure of living arrangements and informal care (Crets, 1996) | 2 | X | X | ||||
| A measure of satisfaction with social support (Feld, 1994) | 6 | X | X | X | |||
| A measure of social integration (Orth-Gomer, 1996) | 6 | X | X | X | X | ||
| A measure of social isolation (Cloutier-Fischer, 2009) | 2 | X | X | X | X | ||
| A measure of social network (Reed, 1983) | 9 | X | X | ||||
| A measure of social network (Reed, 1984) | 4 | X | X | ||||
| A measure of social support (Tran, 1997) | 5 | X | X | ||||
| A measure of social support (André-Petersson, 2006) | 13 | X | X | X | X | ||
| A measure of social support (Ikeda, 2008) | 4 | X | X | X | X | ||
| A measure of social support (Kuper, 2006) | 6 | X | X | X | |||
| A social network index (Rutledge, 2008) | 12 | X | X | ||||
| Social network type (Coe, 1984) | 2 | X | X | X | |||
| Social network type—family (Coe, 1985) | 2 | X | X | X | |||
| Multi-item measures combining questions about frequency of contact with others and participation in activities | 2 or more | X | X | ||||
| Question(s) about frequency of face-to-face and/or phone contact with family and/or friends and/or neighbours—eg, ‘How many times during the past week did you spend some time with someone who does not live with you?’ (Hyduk, 1996) | 1 or more | X | X | ||||
| Question(s) about the geographical proximity of family and friends | 1 | X | X | ||||
| Question(s) about the number of close friends or relatives—eg, asking respondents for the ‘number of friends [they] feel close to’ (Lee, 2008) | 1 or more | X | X | X | |||
| Question(s) about participation in social activities such as going to the cinema, sport events, church attendance or volunteering—eg, ‘In the past two weeks, did you go to a show or movie, sports event, club meeting, classes or other group event?’ (The Longitudinal Study of Aging, 1992) | 1 or more | X | |||||
| Question(s) about the perceived availability of emotional, tangible, informational and/or other support—eg, ‘Is there someone who would give you any help at all if you were sick or disabled, for example your husband/wife, a member of your family, or a friend?’ (Barresi, 1987) | 1 or more | X | X | ||||
| Question(s) about received support—eg, asking participants whether they received assistance during the past month with 7 tasks, including shopping, housework or going to the doctor | 1 or more | X | |||||
| Question(s) about satisfaction with social relationships and/or participation—eg, asking participants whether they believe their present level of social activities to be adequate | 4 | X | X | ||||
| Question(s) about the size of a person's network—eg, number of friends and relatives outside the household | 1 or more | X | X | ||||
| Question about time spent alone | 1 | X | X | ||||
| Single-item question about feeling lonely—eg, ‘How often in the last 12 months have you been bothered by loneliness?’ | 1 | X | X | ||||
*Subscales available.