Measuring Social Functioning Flashcards
Define social functioning.
That dimension of an individual’s well-being that concerns how they along with other people, how other people react to them, and how they interacts with social institutions and societal mores.
List the 4 key concepts in social functioning.
- Social isolation
- Loneliness
- Social support
- Social networks
Define social isolation.
The number of persons with whom an individual has contact or lives, engagement in volunteering or work, and membership in social organisations or clubs.
Define loneliness.
Subjective distress resulting from a discrepancy between desired and perceived social relationships.
Define social support.
The perception and actuality that one is cared for,
has assistance available from other people, and most popularly, that one is part of a supportive social network.
Define social network.
A network of social interactions and personal relationships.
List the 3 types of social networks.
- Whole network
- Egocentric network
- Mixed network
What is a whole network design?
Involves defining a specific social collective (e.g., classes,
schools, neighbourhood), where individuals are connected to each other.
List the advantages of the whole network design.
- Can detect ties/relationships across the networks, gain an understanding of a participant’s position within the network.
- Develop an understanding of patterns within the network.
- Use of list limits recall bias.
List the disadvantages of the whole network design.
- Quite difficult to execute – time & resource intensive.
- May raise ethical issues as identities are revealed.
- Particularly if study social influences on risky or illegal
behaviour (e.g. drug use).
What is an egocentric design?
Involves asking individual participants about the members of their networks are.
What is the difference in egocentric design & whole network design?
- Centres on a single individual rather than a whole network.
- No defined population/list for network members.
List the advantages of the egocentric design.
- Less time and resource intensive than a whole network study
- Easy to implement in large-scale surveys
- Can be used to compute a range of measures
List the disadvantages of the egocentric design.
- Relies on individual memory and perception on network
members’ behaviour – affects data quality - Cannot see the whole network, with patterns of relationships within
What is a mixed design?
Using an egocentric approach within a sample that may be linked to each other.
List the advantages of the mixed design.
Can compare actual and perceived network characteristics:
- Ask those respondents to name the other respondents to whom they are connected and ask them about their behaviours/attitudes
Might be useful in the case of ‘hidden’ characteristics
- e.g. risky or illegal behaviour of network member that may be hidden from respondent
May still consider people who are not part of the sample
List the 4 types of name generators.
- Role-relation: types of relationships (e.g. friendship
or kinship) - Interaction: types of social contacts/interactions
- Affective: subjective evaluation of ties
- Exchange: with whom one can trade resources
List 3 characteristics of social networks.
- Range/size
- Clustering and segregation
- Density: the extent to which a network is interconnected
List 2 characteristics of social ties.
- Subjective features, such as emotional closeness
- Objective features, frequency of contact, duration, content of discussion and exchange
Define degree centrality.
The number of connections a person has within the network.
Define closeness centrality.
The average steps it takes for a given actor to reach the other members of the network.
Define betweenness centrality.
The number of times an actor acts as a bridge along the shortest path between two other actors.
What do structural measures focus on?
The linkages and connections an individual has with others.
Which dimensions are included in structural measures?
- size
- density
- composition
- diversity/homogeneity etc
Are structural measures regarded as a subjective or objective assessment?
Objective
What do structural measures emphasise?
Quantity or number of connections.
Are functional measures regarded as a subjective or objective assessment?
Subjective
What do functional measures emphasise?
The quality of relationships (meaning, strength,
emotional closeness)
What’s the difference between functional measures and structural measures?
Functional measures take into consideration the role or function of the social connection.
Give an example of a functional measure.
Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-12 and LSNS-6)
Give an example of a social support measure.
Interpersonal Support Evaluation List
How does the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List work?
It contains 40 items that ask about perceived availability of social support; responses (probably true – probably false)
How can we measure social capital?
- Membership in voluntary organisations
- Interpersonal trust
- Perceived availability of aid
What is a position generator?
Assesses whether an individual is connected
to people who hold certain (occupational) positions e.g. doctors, dentists, lawyers etc.
List the disadvantages of position generators.
Assumes that this provides the individual with access to a range of resources
- However, occupation might not be relevant for all kinds of resources (e.g. emotional)
- Many positions that provide important resources do not have ‘official’ prestige
How is social cohesion measured on an individual level?
Ask the individual how he/she perceives his/her group,
neighbourhood or community.
List the 2 domains that social cohesion falls in.
- Cognitive social capital
- Structural social capital
What is cognitive social capital?
Individual attitudes, perceptions and cognitions about their group, neighbourhood or community.
What is structural social capital?
Focusing on actual behaviours.
How is social cohesion measured on a group level?
- Individual measures are aggregated up to
group/neighbourhood/community levels to derive these
measures. - Using observable data (built environment, how often streets are swept, etc.)
