Validation of the Factor Structure and Gender-Related Measurement Invariance of the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (Short Form): Proposing an Alternative Design

Jan Sebastian Novotný (), Lucie Váchová and Jana Kvintová
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Jan Sebastian Novotný: Department of Psychology and Abnormal Psychology, Faculty of Education, Palacký University, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Lucie Váchová: Department of Psychology and Abnormal Psychology, Faculty of Education, Palacký University, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Jana Kvintová: Department of Psychology and Abnormal Psychology, Faculty of Education, Palacký University, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic

Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: The aim of this paper was to validate the factor structure and gender-related measurement invariance of the short form of the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB). The study sample consisted of 710 undergraduate students aged 19–55 years. A confirmatory factor analysis of the original design confirmed a three-factor structure with an acceptable goodness of fit (CFI = 0.910, TLI = 0.894, RMSEA = 0.066) and validity; however, some indices hinted at potential weak points. Therefore, we proposed an alternative model with the identical three-factor structure but fewer items. This model showed a better goodness of fit (CFI = 0.953, TLI = 0.936, RMSEA = 0.064) and was superior to the original design ( p < 0.001). Convergent and discriminant validity and reliability were also good. Finally, a gender-related measurement invariance analysis demonstrated invariance in the ISSB structure for both models, while revealing partial metric and scalar invariance. In conclusion, the findings suggest that the ISSB-SF is a reliable, efficient and rapid tool for measuring received social support, with the proposed alternative design possibly being advantageous if validated on other populations.

Keywords: received social support; Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors; confirmatory factor analysis; validity; gender-related measurement invariance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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