Summary
Measures of personal social resources and support are criticised for failing to assess clearly defined behaviours and self-evaluations of relationships that relate to specific events and time periods. A new schedule, the Interview Measure of Social Relationships (IMSR), attempts to resolve some of these problems. It assesses the size and density of the primary social network, contacts with aquaintances and others, adequacy of interaction and supportiveness of relationships, and crisis support. A hierarchical data base allows flexible access to the data. Initial evaluation of the IMSR demonstrates good inter-rater reliability, a high degree of temporal stability of close relationships, and good acceptability for use in large-scale surveys of individuals with differing social and educational backgrounds.
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Brugha, T.S., Sturt, E., MacCarthy, B. et al. The Interview Measure of Social Relationships: The description and evaluation of a survey instrument for assessing personal social resources. Soc Psychiatry 22, 123–128 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00584017
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00584017