Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2001

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Barry A. Edelstein.

Abstract

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Social Interactions Questionnaire (SIQ; Kalish & Edelstein, 1996), a quick and efficient tool to measure negative social interactions. Overwhelming evidence has emerged over the past decade indicating that negative social interactions (NSIs) are strongly related to measures of mental and physical health. A critique of existing measures of NSIs reveals long and cumbersome interviews that are comprised of some, but not all, of the critical elements of NSIs. The SIQ efficiently measures these critical elements, which include (a) perceived versus structural components of NSIs, (b) seven different types of NSIs, (c) overall relationship style (e.g., reciprocal, overprotective), (d) nature of the relation between the respondent and the support provider (e.g., spouse, friend), and (e) the specific stressor experienced by the respondent (e.g., retirement, care-taking). The present study included interview and questionnaire data from a sample of 106 idependently living older adults. Results provide evidence for the construct validity of the SIQ by revealing significant correlations in the expected directions with two measures of mental health including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck et al., 1961) and the Life Satisfaction Index (LSI-Z; Wood et al., 1969). Further evidence for SIQ construct validity is found in the significant relation between the SIQ and the Frequency of Interactions Inventory (FII; Stephens et al., 1987), another measure of negative social interactions. Evidence for temporal stability is evidenced in the relation between data from initial administration of the SIQ and retest data at 2 days and 2 weeks. Internal consistency of the SIQ is also strongly supported. It is concluded that the SIQ is a psychometrically sound instrument that incorporates all of the critical elements necessary to sufficiently examine NSIs, and can be administered more quickly and efficiently than existing measures. The SIQ is a valuable tool for clinical assessment and further examination of SIQs. Suggestions for future research are presented.

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