The Mannheim Interview on Social Support. Reliability and validity data from three samples.
Social support questionnaires usually provide scant information about the members of supporting networks, while network-analytical approaches often fail to sufficiently detail the functional aspects of social support available to an individual. A structured interview, the "Mannheim Interview on Social Support" (MISS) is presented which combines the advantages of both approaches by mapping an individual's social resources in a "support matrix" of [network members] * [relationship characteristics + support functions]. Stability and validity data collected in three different samples (discharged depressed in-patients, university students, and parents of children afflicted with cancer) are reported. Test-retest correlations are compared with alternative measures of stability, and the relationship of various MISS scores to scores based on conceptually related instruments is explored. The results indicate good test-retest stability of the main functional and structural MISS scores rtt = 0.66 to 0.88 for a four-week interval, and rtt = 0.42 to 0.79 for a six-month-interval). It is shown that the MISS captures several dimensions of a person's social support environment not covered by questionnaires targeting subjective perceptions of support.
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Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Federal Republic of Germany.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011594:Psychometrics; D012944:Social Support