Description

The Social Support Questionnaire is an assessment instrument designed to evaluate the level and forms of social support that individuals perceive or receive from family members, friends, and their broader social environment.

Social support is an important psychosocial factor that may influence psychological well-being, coping with stressful situations, adjustment, and overall quality of life. The questionnaire provides a structured way to examine different types of supportive resources available to an individual.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Social Support Questionnaire is to assess the role of social support in individuals’ psychological and social well-being.

The results may help researchers and professionals identify areas in which a person experiences sufficient support, as well as domains in which support may be limited. This information can be used to design interventions aimed at strengthening social networks, increasing feelings of belonging, and improving quality of life.

Main Dimensions

The first dimension is Emotional Support, which refers to empathy, understanding, acceptance, reassurance, and encouragement. This type of support helps individuals feel emotionally understood and cared for.

The second dimension is Informational Support, which involves the provision of advice, guidance, and useful information that may help individuals manage problems or make decisions.

The third dimension is Practical or Instrumental Support, which refers to the provision of tangible assistance, services, or material resources that support individuals in meeting everyday needs.

The fourth dimension is Social Integration, which reflects the sense of belonging to a group, being accepted by others, and maintaining meaningful social relationships.

Administration

The questionnaire consists of a series of statements related to different forms of social support.

Participants are typically asked to indicate the extent to which each statement reflects their personal experience using a 5-point Likert scale, for example from 1 = “Not at all” to 5 = “Very much.”

This format allows the quantitative assessment of both overall social support and its individual dimensions.

Scoring and Interpretation

Scores may be calculated by summing the individual item responses or by computing mean scores, depending on the scoring procedure used.

Higher scores generally indicate a greater level of perceived social support, whereas lower scores may reflect more limited access to supportive relationships or a lower sense of social connectedness.

Interpretation may be performed both at the level of the total score and for individual dimensions, allowing researchers to identify specific strengths or deficits in a person’s social support network.

Data Analysis and Use

Data analysis may include descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, and score distributions, as well as correlations with other psychological, social, or clinical variables.

In research settings, social support may be examined in relation to factors such as stress, depression, anxiety, resilience, quality of life, physical health, and the ability to cope with adverse or demanding life circumstances.

Applications

The Social Support Questionnaire may be used in psychological and social research, healthcare settings, counseling, education, and community-based interventions.

It may be particularly useful in studies examining the protective role of social relationships and the extent to which support from others can buffer the negative effects of stress.

The findings may also support the development of interventions aimed at strengthening social networks, improving communication, and increasing access to meaningful sources of support.

References

Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357.

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.

House, J. S., Umberson, D., & Landis, K. R. (1988). Structures and processes of social support. Annual Review of Sociology, 14, 293–318.