Standardization of Brief Inventory of Social Support Exchange Network (BISSEN) in Japan

This study describes the Brief Inventory of Social Support Exchange Network (BISSEN) as a standardized brief inventory measuring various aspects of social support. We confirmed the reliability and validity for function and direction of support and standardized the BISSEN. For Sample 1, a stratified random sampling method was used to select 5200 residents in Japan. We conducted mail surveys and responses were retrieved from 2274 participants (collection rate 43.7%). Participants completed a questionnaire packet that included BISSEN, suicidal ideation, depression, support seeking, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Sample 2 surveys for test-retest reliability were conducted on 23 residents at approximately two-week intervals. Participants were asked about gender, age, and BISSEN. First, we assessed the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct, convergent, and concurrent validity. McDonald's omega (.73-.92) and test-retest correlations (.78-.85) demonstrated adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Depression, support seeking, and MSPSS were significantly correlated with all scores of BISSEN. The non-suicidal ideation group had significantly more support compared to the suicidal ideation group. Therefore, function and direction of support in BISSEN had sufficient reliability and validity. Next, we standardized BISSEN using Z-scores and percentile rank with respect to each 12 norm groups by age and gender.