The purposes of this article are to review the psychometric properties of the Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6) and to determine its utility in assessing social networks of an older adult community sample. We tested the LSNS-6 with Rasch methodology using a sample of 196 older adults, aged 55 and above who live in public and subsidized housing facilities. Rasch analysis showed unidimensionality of the overall scale, high person and item reliability, and good fit of individual items with one exception. Principal component analysis (PCA) of Rasch model residuals suggested family and friend subdimensions. Response categories demonstrated improvement when six categories were collapsed to four. A person-threshold map indicated ceiling and floor effects due to lack of items measuring less and more developed social networks. Recommendations provided in this article can make the LSNS-6 more psychometrically sound and useful in research and practical contexts.
Keywords: Internet use among older adults; Rasch analysis; measurement; social network.
© The Author(s) 2014.