Assessing Social Support: The Social Support Questionnaire

A measure of social support, the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), is described, and four empirical studies employing it are presented. The SSQ yields scores for (a) perceived number of social supports and (b) satisfaction with social support that is available. Three of the studies deal with the SSQ's psychometric properties, its correlations with measures of personality and adjustment, and the relation of the SSQ to positive and negative life changes. The fourth study is an experimental investigation of the relation between social support and persistence in working on a complex, frustrating task. The research reported suggests that the SSQ is a reliable instrument and that social support is (a) more strongly related to positive than negative life changes, (b) more related in a negative direction to psychological discomfort among women than men, and (c) an asset in enabling a person to persist at a task under frustrating conditions. Research and clinical implications are discussed.