RAND Social Health Battery – RSHB
A self-report questionnaire that measures social health, including social support, social contacts, and group participation.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The RAND Social Health Battery – RSHB was developed by Cathy A. Donald, John E. Ware, Jr., Robert H. Brook (1978). It is designed to measure Social Health. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 11 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Social Contacts, Social Resources, Social Quality, Group Activities.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Social Contacts | 1,3,4,5,6,7 | 6 |
| Social Resources | 2 | 1 |
| Social Quality | 8 | 1 |
| Group Activities | 9,10,11 | 3 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Every day / Better than usual / Very active, 2 = Several days a week / About the same / Fairly active, 3 = About once a week / Not as well as usual / Not active, 4 = 2 or 3 times a month / Do not belong to any groups, 5 = Once in past month / About once a month, 6 = Not at all in past month / 5 to 10 times a year, 7 = Less than 5 times a year.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 47. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Social Health: 0 – 15
- Moderate Social Health: 16 – 30
- High Social Health: 31 – 47
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.