Scale of Perceived Social Support – Family

Abstract

The Scale of Perceived Social Support-Family is a specialized subscale derived from the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). This instrument is designed to measure an individual’s subjective perception of the availability and adequacy of social support specifically provided by their family unit. It assesses the degree to which an individual feels loved, cared for, and supported during times of need or crisis. Given its focus on family relationships, it is frequently utilized in research concerning adolescents and youth programs where family dynamics and support structures are critical variables for assessing well-being and outcomes.

Keywords

Perceived Social Support, Family Support, Social Networks, Psychological Assessment, Adolescents, Youth Programs, Psychometrics, Family Dynamics

Authors

The parent instrument, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), was originally developed by Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley in 1988. The psychometric properties of its application, particularly within urban youth populations, have been extensively studied by researchers such as Canty-Mitchell and Zimet in 2000.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Scale of Perceived Social Support-Family is to provide a concise, quantitative measure of the quality and sufficiency of support received from family members. This measure is crucial for researchers and clinicians seeking to understand the protective factors influencing mental health, coping mechanisms, and resilience in vulnerable populations, such as youth navigating developmental challenges.

By focusing exclusively on the family domain, the scale allows for targeted assessment, differentiating between support derived from family versus support from friends or significant others. This specificity is valuable in evaluating the effectiveness of interventions aimed at strengthening family bonds or assessing the impact of adverse family environments.

Construct

The psychological construct measured is Perceived Social Support (PSS), defined as the subjective feeling that one is cared for, esteemed, and part of a network of mutual obligations. Unlike objective measures of support (e.g., counting interactions), this scale focuses on the individual’s internal appraisal of support availability, which is generally considered a stronger predictor of psychological adjustment than the actual receipt of support.

Specifically, the Family subscale targets four key components of support: availability during need, willingness to share joys and sorrows, being a source of comfort, and the caring nature of the special person within the family structure. The underlying assumption is that a strong perception of family support serves as a buffer against stress and promotes positive developmental outcomes.

Validity

The validity of the Scale of Perceived Social Support-Family is established through its parent instrument, the MSPSS, which has demonstrated strong construct and concurrent validity across diverse populations. Studies, including the 2000 research by Canty-Mitchell and Zimet, confirm that the measure correlates appropriately with other indicators of well-being and psychological distress, establishing its concurrent validity.

Furthermore, the clear factor structure (discussed below) provides evidence of the instrument’s construct validity, confirming that the items designed to measure family support indeed cluster together and are distinct from items measuring support from other sources.

Reliability

The reliability of the scale, indicating its internal consistency, is consistently reported as excellent within the existing psychometric literature. The source material confirms that the internal consistency, measured using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients, for both the subscales and the total scale are robust, falling within the range of .78 to .92.

These values suggest that the items within the Family subscale are highly homogeneous and reliably measure the underlying construct of perceived family support. An alpha coefficient above .70 is generally considered acceptable in psychological assessment, making the reported range highly satisfactory for research applications involving psychometrics.

Factor Analysis

As a component of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Family subscale represents one distinct factor in a multi-factor structure. Factor analysis studies typically confirm that the items pertaining to the family domain load heavily onto a single, identifiable factor separate from factors related to friends or significant others. This supports the conceptualization of perceived social support as a domain-specific construct, where the source of support (e.g., family) is a crucial distinguishing element.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychological scale

Format: 5-point Likert scale

Language Available: Primarily English, though the MSPSS has been translated and validated in numerous languages globally.

Population Group: General population, with specific emphasis on youth and adolescents.

Age Group: Typically used with individuals aged 12 and above, particularly those involved in child and youth programs.

Population Details: The referenced psychometric studies often focus on urban adolescents, suggesting utility in diverse cultural and socioeconomic settings.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate their agreement with each statement based on the following scale:

• 1 = Rarely or Never
• 2 = A Little Bit
• 3 = Sometimes
• 4 = A Good Part of the Time
• 5 = Always

Keywords

Family Relations, Assessment Tool, Likert Scale, Well-being, Resilience, Reliability, Internal Consistency, MSPSS, Support System

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in the source material)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in the source material)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in the source material)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original MSPSS was developed in 1988. The specific psychometric study referenced in the source material was published in 2000. Information regarding specific permissions and fees for the use of the scale must be sought directly from the primary authors or copyright holders (G. D. Zimet and colleagues).

The instrument is documented in the publication Assessing Outcomes in Child and Youth Programs: A Practical Handbook, where it can be found on pages 88-89. The handbook is available online at: http://fyi.uwex.edu/topic/youth/. The original PDF of the handbook, containing the scale, can be downloaded here: http://4h.uwex.edu/evaluation/documents/ChildYouthOutcomeHandbook2005.pdf

Reference’s

Canty-Mitchell, J & Zimet, G. D. (2000). Psychometric properties of the multidimensional scale of perceived social support in urban adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28 (3), 391- 403.

Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30–41.

Items of the Scale of Perceived Social Support-Family

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. There is a special person who is around when I am in need.
2. There is a special person with whom I can share my joys and sorrows.
3. I have a special person who is a real source of comfort to me.
4. There is a special person in my life who cares about my feelings.