The assessment of positivity and negativity in social networks: the reliability and validity of the social relationships index

Abstract

The Social Relationships Index (SRI) was designed to examine positivity and negativity in social relationships. Unique features of this scale include its brevity and the ability to examine relationship positivity and negativity at the level of the specific individual and social network. The SRI's psychometric properties were examined in three studies. The SRI demonstrated good psychometric properties, including test-retest reliability for the assessment of positivity and negativity, and of relationship classifications across social networks. Additionally, discriminant and convergent validity was established with existing social relationship and personality scales. Finally, the SRI showed some generalizability across different contexts. These studies suggest that the SRI is a reliable and valid alternative measure for use in health studies that require a shorter assessment of relationships. C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Within the past century, a large body of epidemiological and experimental evidence has accumulated to suggest the importance of social relationships for our mental health and physical well-being

Spouse cancer caregivers’ burden and distress at entry to home hospice

“…Contact is often minimized with aversive ties (Uchino, Holt-Lunstad, Uno, & Flinders, 2001). Thus, neither is frequently seen in close relationships such as among spouses (Campo et al, 2009; Vaughn & Reblin, 2010), making them outside the scope of the current study. We propose to use this multidimensional framework to describe ambivalent and supportive relationships at the end of life and to test the effects of caregiver relationship quality categories on burden and distress (specifically anxiety and burden).…”

Getting Along Better: The Role of Attitude Familiarity in Relationship Functioning

“…The SRI is a self-report measure of social support developed by Uchino and his colleagues (e.g., Uchino, Holt-Lunstad, Uno, & Flinders, 2001) that has good internal consistency and test-retest reliability (Campo, Uchino, Holt-Lunstad, Vaughn, Reblin, & Smith, 2009). On the key items of the scale, participants rate how helpful, upsetting, and unpredictable their partner is when they need support on 6-point scales anchored by not at all and extremely.…”

The quality of social networks predicts age-related changes in cardiovascular reactivity to stress.

“…In our prior work, these network measures were temporally stable with significant 3 month test-retest correlations of r = .61 ( p < .001) for the number of supportive ties, r = .30 ( p < .001) for the number of aversive ties, and r = .68 ( p < .001) for the number of ambivalent ties. The SRI also has good convergent (e.g., perceived support) and discriminant (e.g., personality) validity (Campo et al, 2009). …”

“…That is, the SAVI model predicts that older adults may be more negatively influenced by interpersonal stressors given that older adults have less physiological flexibility (e.g., stiffer arteries, Charles, 2010; Ferrari, Radaelli, & Centola, 2003). This is an important point because many close relationships contain both negative and positive aspects and create significant interpersonal distress (Campo et al, 2009). …”