Description

The Short Form Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ-6) is a widely recognized self-report psychometric instrument developed to assess both the availability of social support and an individual’s satisfaction with that support. As a concise version of the original Social Support Questionnaire developed by Sarason and colleagues, the SSQ-6 provides a rapid yet comprehensive assessment of perceived social support while maintaining excellent psychometric properties.

Unlike many social support measures that focus exclusively on perceived support, the SSQ-6 evaluates two complementary dimensions of social relationships. For each of the six life situations presented, respondents identify the number of individuals they can rely on for support and then rate how satisfied they are with the support available to them. This dual assessment provides valuable insight into both the structural characteristics of an individual’s support network and the subjective quality of the support they experience.

The questionnaire captures support from a variety of interpersonal sources, including family members, friends, romantic partners, colleagues, and other significant individuals. Because social support is considered a major protective factor against psychological distress and an important determinant of physical and mental health, the SSQ-6 is extensively used in psychology, psychiatry, public health, behavioral medicine, nursing, social work, epidemiology, and health sciences research. It has been successfully applied across diverse populations, including adolescents, adults, older adults, university students, caregivers, patients with chronic illnesses, and individuals experiencing stressful life events.

Data Analysis and Use

The analysis of data obtained from the Short Form Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ-6) involves comprehensive psychometric evaluation and statistical analysis of its two principal dimensions: the number of available supporters (SSQN) and satisfaction with social support (SSQS). These complementary dimensions allow researchers and clinicians to distinguish between the objective size of an individual’s support network and the subjective quality of the support received.

Psychometric evaluation includes the assessment of internal consistency, typically measured using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, to determine the reliability of each subscale. The questionnaire has consistently demonstrated excellent reliability across different cultural and clinical populations. Test–retest reliability is also commonly examined to assess the temporal stability of responses over repeated administrations.

The construct validity of the SSQ-6 has been established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, while convergent and discriminant validity have been demonstrated through significant associations with measures of perceived stress, anxiety, depression, resilience, coping strategies, self-esteem, life satisfaction, loneliness, and overall psychological well-being. Additional psychometric analyses frequently include item-total correlations, composite reliability, measurement invariance, and cross-cultural validation studies.

Statistical analyses commonly involve descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, regression models, mediation and moderation analyses, structural equation modeling (SEM), and longitudinal analyses to investigate the role of social support as both a protective factor and a mediator of health outcomes. The SSQ-6 is extensively employed in intervention research to evaluate changes in social support over time and to assess the effectiveness of psychosocial, educational, and community-based support programs.

Objective

The primary objective of the Short Form Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ-6) is to provide a reliable, valid, and efficient assessment of perceived social support by simultaneously measuring the availability of supportive individuals and satisfaction with the support received. This dual-dimensional approach enables researchers and healthcare professionals to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of an individual’s social resources than measures that evaluate only one aspect of social support.

The SSQ-6 assists in identifying individuals who may have limited social networks, inadequate perceived support, or low satisfaction with existing interpersonal relationships, all of which are associated with increased vulnerability to stress, psychological distress, poorer physical health, and reduced quality of life. The instrument therefore plays an important role in screening, clinical assessment, prevention programs, and psychosocial intervention planning.

Its brevity makes the SSQ-6 particularly suitable for large epidemiological studies, clinical trials, routine healthcare assessments, educational research, occupational health investigations, and longitudinal studies where rapid yet reliable assessment of social support is required. The questionnaire also facilitates comparisons across demographic groups, clinical populations, and cultural settings through standardized measurement procedures.

Scoring

The Short Form Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ-6) consists of six items, each assessing two distinct aspects of perceived social support.

For each item, participants first indicate the number of individuals they can rely upon in a particular situation, generating the Number of Supporters (SSQN) score. Participants then rate their level of satisfaction with the available support using a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (Very dissatisfied) to 7 (Very satisfied), producing the Satisfaction with Support (SSQS) score.

Scores are calculated separately for each subscale by summing or averaging responses across the six items. Higher SSQN scores indicate a larger perceived support network, while higher SSQS scores reflect greater satisfaction with the quality and adequacy of available social support. Both dimensions may be interpreted independently or jointly, providing a detailed profile of an individual’s social support resources.

The SSQ-6 has consistently demonstrated excellent psychometric performance. Reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients are approximately 0.92 for the Number of Supporters subscale and 0.85 for the Satisfaction with Support subscale, indicating high internal consistency and strong measurement reliability. Researchers commonly complement score interpretation with analyses of item-total correlations, construct validity, factor structure, and normative comparisons to ensure accurate interpretation across different populations.

References

Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, Social Support, and the Buffering Hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357.

Roussi, P., & Vassilaki, E. (2001). The Applicability of the Multiaxial Model of Coping to the Greek Population. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 14, 125–147.

Sarason, I. G., Sarason, B. R., Shearin, E. N., & Pierce, G. R. (1987). A Brief Measure of Social Support: Practical and Theoretical Implications. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 4(4), 497–510.

Sarason, I. G., Levine, H. M., Basham, R. B., & Sarason, B. R. (1983). Assessing Social Support: The Social Support Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 127–139.

Vaux, A. (1988). Social Support: Theory, Research, and Intervention. New York: Praeger.