In addition, the second group of interpreters was related to the frequency of respondent’s interpersonal communication
with the alters, including three questions on how often the ego was used to communicate with each alter via a particular
medium (i.e., in-person, landline phone, and mobile phone voice communication). The survey question here was as follows:
‘‘How often do you communicate with (this) person [medium]?’’ For each statement, the respondents answered on an 8-
point ordinal scale, where 1 = ‘‘never,’’ 2 = ‘‘once a year or less,’’ 3 = ‘‘several times a year,’’ 4 = ‘‘about once a month,’’
5 = ‘‘several times a month,’’ 6 = ‘‘several times a week,’’ 7 = ‘‘every day or almost every day,’’ and 8 = ‘‘several times a