Are They Family or Friends? Social Support Instrument Reliability in Studying Older Lesbians

Abstract

We know little about the support needs and health of older lesbians because participant sexual identity has typically not been identified in aging studies. The Lubben Social Network Scale, Revised (LSNS-R) is found widely reliable for testing perceived social support among elders but has never been tested with an exclusively lesbian population. This pilot tested the instrument with an exclusively lesbian population in the Midwest. Our analysis suggests it may not be reliable with this population, even with minor modifications that were made. Further examination adding a category for “family of choice” is warranted and supported by the originator of the tool.

KEYWORDS:

• lesbians
• adults
• social support
• social networks
• survey research
• factor analysis
• reliability