Reliability, Validity, and Item Response of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Score Among Incarcerated Women

Abstract

Female incarcerations in the United States have increased dramatically in the past decade. While many female inmates suffer from comorbid substance abuse and mental health issues, they often lack social supports and resources that can help female inmates successfully reintegrate back into community. However, the characteristics of social support of incarcerated women have not been fully explored. Using the Rasch model, we examined the MOS social support measure in 271 female inmates in a large urban jail. The findings showed that the MOS social support items did not fully capture variability of item response. The Rasch analyses also showed a high ceiling effect, implying that the measure may be less than optimal for detecting upward change in this population. It is important to utilize reliable and valid instruments in order to capture attributes in incarcerated individuals as their life experience and context require an additional adjustment to existing instruments.

KEYWORDS:

• inmates
• item response
• Rasch model
• social support
• women in jail