A Brief Measure of Social Support: Practical and Theoretical Implications

TLDR

The paper reports two studies that develop a brief version of the Social Support Questionnaire. Study 1 selected three highly correlated items for a 3‑item SSQ3 from 182 students, while Study 2 used three data sets to create a 6‑item SSQ6. SSQ3 showed acceptable reliability and comparable correlations to the full SSQ, whereas SSQ6 exhibited high internal reliability and strong correlations with the full SSQ and personality measures, indicating that perceived social support may mirror early attachment experiences.

Abstract

Two studies leading to the development of a short form of the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) are reported. In Study 1 three items selected for high correlations with the total score (SSQ3) were administered to 182 university students together with several personality measures. SSQ3 had acceptable test-retest reliability and correlations with personality variables similar to those of the SSQ. Internal reliability was marginal although acceptable for an instrument with so few items. Study 2 employed three sets of data in developing a six-item instrument (SSQ6). The SSQ6 had high internal reliability and correlated highly with the SSQ and similarly to it with personality variables. The research findings accompanying the development of the short form social support measure suggest that perceived social support in adults may be a reflection of early attachment experience.