Description

The Perceived Social Support from Friends Scale (PSS-FR-20) is a self-report instrument designed to assess the degree to which individuals perceive that they receive social and emotional support from their friends. It was developed by Procidano and Heller (1983) and consists of 20 items.

The scale focuses on the individual’s subjective perception of support rather than simply the number or frequency of social contacts, making it useful for examining the quality of friendships and perceived social integration.

Purpose

The main purpose of the PSS-FR-20 is to assess the extent to which an individual believes that they have a supportive network of friends. According to the source material, perceived support from friends is associated with psychological resilience, better stress management, and overall mental well-being.

The scale may also help identify possible deficits in perceived social support or indications of social isolation.

Scale Structure

The PSS-FR consists of 20 statements that assess different aspects of perceived support from friends.

Participants respond using a 6-point Likert-type scale.

Scoring

Responses are rated from 1 to 6, where 1 corresponds to “Strongly disagree” and 6 to “Strongly agree.” The total score ranges from 20 to 120, with higher scores indicating greater perceived support from friends.

Some items are negatively worded and therefore require reverse scoring before the total score is calculated.

Research and Clinical Applications

The PSS-FR-20 may be used in research examining social support, mental health, social integration, and interpersonal relationships.

According to the source material, it may also be applied in clinical assessment, student populations, psychological support interventions, and comparative studies across different cultural or age groups.

Data Analysis

Data may be analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean comparisons between groups, and correlations with other psychometric variables.

Psychometric evaluation may also include internal consistency, validity, and factor analysis. The source reports high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients often above 0.85.

Interpretation

Higher scores indicate that the individual perceives stronger support from their friends, whereas lower scores may indicate more limited perceived social support.

Results should be interpreted in relation to the individual’s social context, demographic characteristics, and other psychological variables. The scale should not be used on its own as a clinical diagnostic instrument.

References

Procidano, M. E., & Heller, K. (1983). Measures of perceived social support from friends and from family: Three validation studies. American Journal of Community Psychology, 11(1), 1–24.

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.

Παπακώστας, Γ. (2012). Ψυχομετρική αξιολόγηση της Κλίμακας Αντιλαμβανόμενης Κοινωνικής Στήριξης σε ελληνικό δείγμα φοιτητών.