A Brief Measure of Social Support: Practical and Theoretical Implications

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.

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