Social Relationships

In sum, the following measures each appear to tap somewhat different concepts related to social relationships:

GENNUM Number of generations present in household

HHSIZE Number of persons present in household

NATIVNAM Sum of social connections of Native name
(A1a, A1b, A1c, A2, A4)

A38ar to A38gr Reversed scale of A38a-A38r so that 5=all the time and 1=not at all.

SOCSUP1: Index based on frequency of seven different types of
support (A38ar-A38gr).

SOCSUP2: Grouped values of SOCSUP1 - 5 categories

A36 Strength of ties with family not living with respondent.

INTOUCHR Index based on grouped values of frequency of contact
with family not living with respondent.

We are principally interested in the strength of social relationships.
There are four relevant sets of questions: A1-A4,A36, A37a-b, and A38a-g.
Below are details concerning these variables. Based on preliminary
analyses, these should NOT be treated as measures of the same
concept.

Many Inupiat think of their Inupiat name as a connection to their family and a connection to traits they aspire to. This is a quite different
type of social relationship than perceptions of current support.

It appears that people often derive social support as
measured in A38 from people other than family members who don't
live with them (A36), as, for example, from family members they do
live with, from friends or perhaps professionals. A37 responses
(frequency of phone/email and visits with family not living with R) are
not highly correlated with each other, which makes sense given
differences in where other family reside (i.e. next door or in another
community). At the same time, combining the responses makes
sense if the goal is to measure frequency of contact regardless of
whether it is by phone/email or visiting.

Details on relevant survey questions include:

A36 How strong links to other family

243 Measurement level: Scale Format: F8 Column Width: 8 Alignment: Right Missing Values: 8, 9, 0

Value Label

0 M inappropriate - no other family 1 Very weak 2 Weak 3 Neither weak nor strong 4 Strong 5 Very strong 8 M don't know 9 M not ascertained

A38a-g

People sometimes look to others for companionship, assistance, guidance or other types of support. (HAND R CARD THREE) Could you tell me the number on this card that best fits how often each of the following types of support is available to you when you need it: [CHECK BOX]

A38A Someone to listen to you

A38B Someone to count on for advice

A38C Someone who shows love and affection

A38D Someone to have a good time with

A38E Someone to confide in and talk about problems

A38F Someone to listen to relax with

A38G Someone to listen to do something enjoyable with

Measurement level: Scale Format: F8 Column Width: 8 Alignment: Right Missing Values: 8, 9, 0

Value Label

0 M inappropriate - don't do that 1 All the time 2 Most of the time 3 Some of the time 4 Seldom 5 Not at all 8 M Dont know 9 M Not ascertained

A37a-A37b

(HAND R CARD TWO) During the last month, how often were you in touch with members of your family not living with you by phone or email? Please just tell me the number on this card that best fits.

A37A Contact other relatives last month by phone, email

A37B Visit, visited by other relatives last month

Measurement level: Scale Format: F8 Column Width: 8 Alignment: Right Missing Values: 8, 9, 0

Value Label

1 Never 2 Once 3 Few times 4 More than few times 5 Every day 8 M Dont Know 9 M Not ascertained

SOCSUP1 Index of Strength of Social Support

Syntax:

****** Method 1 (space saver) will be used for this analysis ******

R E L I A B I L I T Y A N A L Y S I S - S C A L E (S O C S U P 1)

N of

Statistics for Mean Variance Std Dev Variables

SCALE 28.7590 29.9435 5.4721 7

Reliability Coefficients

N of Cases = 610.0 N of Items = 7

Alpha = .8786

grouped values of socsup1

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	18 or less	49	7.4	7.5	7.5
	19-24	119	17.9	18.3	25.8
	25-29	162	24.4	24.9	50.8
	30-34	216	32.6	33.2	84.0
	35	104	15.7	16.0	100.0
	Total	650	98.0	100.0
Missing	System	13	2.0
Total		663	100.0

Check of agreement with two closely related concepts:

How strong links to other family * grouped values of socsup1 Crosstabulation

% within grouped values of socsup1

This analysis suggests that, while correlated, these are two different concepts. The major difference is likely to be accounted for by support from the family living with the respondent and from friends.

Note: we checked two people who scored high on socsup1 and low on a36. The responses look consistent with the context of the interviews.

		grouped values of socsup1					Total
		18 or less	19-24	25-29	30-34	35
How strong links to other family	Very weak			1.9%	.5%	1.0%	.8%
	Weak	8.9%	4.2%	.6%			1.6%
	Neither weak nor strong	24.4%	23.7%	17.6%	6.9%	2.9%	13.2%
	Strong	35.6%	44.9%	49.1%	46.8%	39.4%	45.0%
	Very strong	31.1%	27.1%	30.8%	45.8%	56.7%	39.4%
Total		100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

How strong links to other family * Contact other relatives last month by phone, email

Crosstab

% within Contact other relatives last month by phone, email

		Contact other relatives last month by phone, email					Total
		Never	Once	Few times	More than few times	Every day
How strong links to other family	Very weak			.8%	.4%	1.3%	.8%
	Weak	14.3%		5.9%		.4%	1.6%
	Neither weak nor strong	28.6%	40.0%	24.4%	14.0%	4.3%	13.2%
	Strong	28.6%	30.0%	46.2%	50.9%	39.0%	45.0%
	Very strong	28.6%	30.0%	22.7%	34.7%	55.0%	39.5%
Total		100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Symmetric Measures

		Value	Asymp. Std. Error	Approx. T	Approx. Sig.
Ordinal by Ordinal	Gamma	.413	.049	7.864	.000
N of Valid Cases		645

a Not assuming the null hypothesis.

b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.

How strong links to other family * Visit, visited by other relatives last month

Crosstab

% within Visit, visited by other relatives last month

		Visit, visited by other relatives last month					Total
		Never	Once	Few times	More than few times	Every day
How strong links to other family	Very weak	7.7%			.4%	.6%	.6%
	Weak	3.8%	2.9%	2.8%	1.3%		1.6%
	Neither weak nor strong	23.1%	25.7%	21.6%	10.6%	4.1%	13.3%
	Strong	50.0%	37.1%	47.7%	48.2%	38.8%	45.0%
	Very strong	15.4%	34.3%	27.8%	39.4%	56.5%	39.5%
Total		100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Symmetric Measures

		Value	Asymp. Std. Error	Approx. T	Approx. Sig.
Ordinal by Ordinal	Gamma	.367	.047	7.469	.000
N of Valid Cases		633

a Not assuming the null hypothesis.

b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.

Contact other relatives last month by phone, email * Visit, visited by other relatives last month

Crosstab

% within Visit, visited by other relatives last month

		Visit, visited by other relatives last month					Total
		Never	Once	Few times	More than few times	Every day
Contact other relatives last month by phone, email	Never	11.5%		2.8%	1.3%	1.8%	2.2%
	Once	11.5%	13.9%	.6%	.4%		1.6%
	Few times	30.8%	33.3%	30.7%	11.0%	10.0%	18.3%
	More than few times	34.6%	47.2%	43.6%	50.4%	29.4%	42.1%
	Every day	11.5%	5.6%	22.3%	36.8%	58.8%	35.8%
Total		100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Symmetric Measures

		Value	Asymp. Std. Error	Approx. T	Approx. Sig.
Ordinal by Ordinal	Gamma	.473	.043	10.230	.000
N of Valid Cases		639

a Not assuming the null hypothesis.

b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.

sum of a37a and a37b

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	1.00	1	.2	.2	.2
	2.00	3	.5	.5	.6
	3.00	8	1.2	1.2	1.8
	4.00	25	3.8	3.8	5.6
	5.00	30	4.5	4.6	10.2
	6.00	79	11.9	12.0	22.2
	7.00	105	15.8	16.0	38.2
	8.00	172	25.9	26.2	64.4
	9.00	134	20.2	20.4	84.8
	10.00	100	15.1	15.2	100.0
	Total	657	99.1	100.0
Missing	System	6	.9
Total		663	100.0

grouped values of intouch

		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	1-6	146	22.0	22.2	22.2
	7-8	277	41.8	42.2	64.4
	9	134	20.2	20.4	84.8
	10	100	15.1	15.2	100.0
	Total	657	99.1	100.0
Missing	System	6	.9
Total		663	100.0

Correlations

		sum of a38ar to a38gr	grouped values of socsup1	How strong links to other family	sum of a37a and a37b	grouped values of intouch
sum of a38ar to a38gr	Pearson Correlation	1	.947	.250	.333	.258
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.	.000	.000	.000	.000
	N	650	650	642	649	649
grouped values of socsup1	Pearson Correlation	.947	1	.272	.321	.256
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000	.	.000	.000	.000
	N	650	650	642	649	649
How strong links to other family	Pearson Correlation	.250	.272	1	.320	.300
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000	.000	.	.000	.000
	N	642	642	648	647	647
sum of a37a and a37b	Pearson Correlation	.333	.321	.320	1	.909
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000	.000	.000	.	.000
	N	649	649	647	657	657
grouped values of intouch	Pearson Correlation	.258	.256	.300	.909	1
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000	.000	.000	.000	.
	N	649	649	647	657	657