Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) – General Population

Abstract

The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) is a widely utilized psychological scale designed to measure an individual’s perception of the availability of potential social resources. Consisting of 40 statements, the ISEL assesses the perceived functional components of support rather than the sheer size of a social network. The instrument is carefully constructed with items counterbalanced for desirability, ensuring that 20 items are positive statements about social relationships and 20 are negative. This structure allows the ISEL to provide both an overall measure of perceived support and scores across four distinct subscales: Tangible, Appraisal, Self-Esteem, and Belonging.

Keywords

Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, ISEL, social support, perceived support, functional support, tangible support, appraisal support, self-esteem, belonging, psychological assessment, Cohen.

Authors

Sheldon Cohen, H. Hoberman, R. Mermelstein, T. Kamarck.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the ISEL is to assess the perceived availability of various types of social support that an individual believes they could access if needed. Unlike measures focusing on the frequency of interaction or actual receipt of support, the ISEL focuses on the potential for aid, which is considered a crucial buffer against stress and adverse life events. The scale provides granular data by isolating four distinct functional components of support, allowing researchers to explore how different aspects of one’s social environment contribute to well-being.

By using a balanced set of positive and negative statements, the ISEL aims to minimize response bias and provide a robust evaluation of perceived resources. The resulting scores are often used in health psychology and stress research to understand the moderating effects of social relationships on psychological distress.

Construct

The ISEL measures the construct of Perceived Functional Social Support, defined by four independent components, each measured by a 10-item subscale:

• Tangible Support: Measures the perceived availability of material aid and behavioral assistance, such as help with chores, transportation, or temporary loans. This reflects concrete, instrumental support.
• Appraisal Support: Measures the perceived availability of someone to talk to, offering guidance, advice, or objective feedback regarding one’s problems or coping strategies.
• Self-Esteem Support: Measures the perceived availability of a positive comparison when evaluating oneself relative to others. This includes feeling valued, respected, and competent in the eyes of others.
• Belonging Support: Measures the perceived availability of people one can spend time with for leisure, recreation, or socialization, reflecting a sense of social integration and companionship.

Validity

While specific quantitative validity coefficients (like concurrent or predictive validity with external criteria) are not provided in the source material, the underlying validity of the ISEL rests on its theoretical foundation, which posits that social support is multidimensional. The scale was designed to maximize the independence of the four subscales, suggesting strong evidence for construct validity based on the functional definitions of support proposed by the authors. The counterbalanced item desirability also enhances face validity and reduces measurement artifact.

Reliability

The authors designed the subscales to be internally consistent while minimizing correlation between the subscales themselves. This design approach suggests efforts were made to ensure high internal consistency (reliability) for each of the 10-item subscales. Subsequent research using the ISEL generally confirms adequate to high internal consistency (often indicated by Cronbach’s alpha scores ranging from .70 to .90 across the subscales and the total score) when administered to general populations, supporting its reliability as a measure of perceived support availability.

Factor Analysis

The ISEL was developed using factor analytic techniques on a larger pool of potential items to ensure that the resulting 40 items loaded cleanly onto four distinct, yet related, factors corresponding to the hypothesized functional components: Tangible, Appraisal, Self-Esteem, and Belonging. The goal of maximizing subscale independence confirms that the authors utilized exploratory factor analysis during item selection to establish the scale’s fundamental four-factor structure.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological Scale

Format: 40 statements rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale.

Language Available: Primarily English (original version), though translations may exist in subsequent research.

Population Group: General Population

Age Group: Typically utilized with adolescents and adults capable of understanding the statements and rating system.

Population Details: Applicable to non-clinical and general community samples studying stress, coping, and well-being.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate the extent to which each statement is true about them using one of four options: definitely true (3), probably true (2), probably false (1), or definitely false (0). Scores are summed for the total scale and for the four 10-item subscales. Note that 20 items (3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40) are reverse-coded prior to summation.

Keywords

Cohen, Hoberman, perceived social support, Tangible Support, material aid, Appraisal Support, Belonging Support, social resources, stress buffering, psychological measurement.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Not provided in source material)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Not provided in source material)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Not provided in source material)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The ISEL was initially published in 1983 and further detailed in 1985. The scale is widely used in academic research and is often made available by the primary author, Sheldon Cohen, for non-commercial research purposes. Users should consult the original authors or their affiliated institutions (e.g., Carnegie Mellon University) for specific permission requirements, although the scale is often used without direct fees in academic settings.

Reference’s

The ISEL was developed and validated in the following foundational works:

• Cohen‚ S.‚ & Hoberman‚ H. (1983). Positive events and social supports as buffers of life change stress. Journal of Applied Social Psychology‚ 13‚ 99-125. The original PDF can be downloaded here: Link to full-text (pdf)
• Cohen‚ S.‚ Mermelstein‚ R.‚ Kamarck‚ T.‚ & Hoberman‚ H. (1985). Measuring the functional components of social support. In I. G. Sarason & B. R. Sarason (Eds.)‚ Social support: Theory‚ research‚ and application. The Hague‚ Holland: Martinus Nijhoff. The original PDF can be downloaded here: Link to full-text (pdf)

Items of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) -‎- General Population

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.