The Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) assesses one’s social network size and satisfaction with social support received. The source article highlights that the SSQ is a reliable measure of social support, and that social support is more strongly related to positive life changes, has a negative directional relationship to psychological discomfort among women, and enables individuals to persist through difficult situations.
Measures Registry
Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ)
Description
Purpose
The SSQ is one method of measuring an individual's perception of their social support network. It assess the number of social supports that an individual perceives in their network and the individual's satisfaction with their social support options.
Population
Adults
Year of Publication
1983
Reference
Sarason, I. G., Levine, H. M., Basham, R. R., & Sarason, B. R. (1983). Assessing social support: The Social Support Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 127-139. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.127
Number of Items
27
Scale Types (Likert=Likert Type; MC=Multiple Choice; T/F=True/False; OR=Open Response)
Likert Type, Open Response
OR and Likert: 1 = Very dissatisfied to 6 = Very satisfied
Subscales
Perceived Number of Social Supports
Satisfaction with Social Support Available
Scoring
The number score "N" indicates the number of social support persons the individual reports via open response. The satisfaction score "S" is calculated via a series of questions with responses that range from "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied". The overall "N" or "S" scores are calculated by dividing the sum of the "N" and "S" scores by 27 to obtain a total score.
Administration
Self-Administered
Readability/ Literacy Level
N/A
Reliability
The alpha coefficient of internal reliability was 0.97, indicating strong reliability for the SSQ. Inter-item correlations ranged from 0.35 to 0.71.
The SSQ was also readministered to the participants to assess the test-retest reliability of the measure. The test-retest reliability for the number scores (i.e., number of social supports) was 0.90. The test-retest reliability for the satisfaction scores (i.e., satisfaction with social supports) was 0.83.
Validity
N/A
Limitations
N/A
Availability
Publicly Available
Cost
Free
Other Considerations
N/A