Premium
The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support: A confirmation study
Author(s) -
Dahlem Nancy W.,
Zimet Gregory D.,
Walker Robin R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(199111)47:6<756::aid-jclp2270470605>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - psychology , social support , reliability (semiconductor) , social desirability , psychometrics , scale (ratio) , test validity , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics
This study examined the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS; Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988) with a diverse group of 154 students at an urban college. The following areas were investigated: internal reliability, factorial validity, social desirability bias, and the moderating effect of social support between stressful life events and depression (i.e., the buffering hypothesis). The MSPSS had good internal reliability, and the factor analysis confirmed the subscale structure of the measure: family, friends, and significant other. There was no indication that social desirability bias influenced subjects' responses. Finally, social support was related to depression only for those subjects who were experiencing high levels of life stress, which lends support for the buffering hypothesis.