Social Support among Immigrant Latino Men: A Validation Study

Objective: To explore the factor structure of the Index of Sojourner's Social Support (ISSS) within a sample of Spanish-speaking immigrant Latino men. Methods: We explored the factor structure and calculated correlations to examine associations between the ISSS subscales and self-esteem, mastery, and depression. Results: Mean age of the 244 participants was 26.9 years old and most were from Mexico, had less than high school educational attainment, and worked in construction. The ISSS did not perform as well as expected. Conclusions: Although the ISSS may prove useful as we begin to conceptualize the role and meaning of social support within the context of immigration, more research is needed to develop meaningful measures of constructs among immigrant Latinos in the United States.