Social Support Questionnaire

Social Support Questionnaire

The Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) is a psychological assessment tool designed to measure the perceived availability and satisfaction with social support. It is widely used in research and clinical settings to evaluate the role of social support in mental health and well-being.

Development

The Social Support Questionnaire was developed in the early 1980s by researchers seeking to quantify the impact of social networks on individual health outcomes. The original version of the SSQ was created to assess both the number of social supports available to an individual and the level of satisfaction with these supports.

Structure

The SSQ typically consists of a series of questions that ask respondents to list people they can rely on for support in various situations. Each item on the questionnaire is followed by a satisfaction rating, where respondents indicate how satisfied they are with the support they receive from each person listed.

Scoring

The scoring of the Social Support Questionnaire involves two main components:

• Number Score (SSQN): This score reflects the number of people the respondent lists as available sources of support.
• Satisfaction Score (SSQS): This score measures the respondent's satisfaction with the support they receive, averaged across all listed sources.

Applications

The SSQ is used in a variety of contexts, including:

• Clinical Psychology: To assess the role of social support in coping with mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
• Health Psychology: To explore the relationship between social support and physical health outcomes, such as recovery from illness or surgery.
• Social Work: To evaluate the support networks of clients and inform interventions aimed at enhancing social support.

Limitations

While the Social Support Questionnaire is a valuable tool, it has some limitations. These include potential biases in self-reporting, cultural differences in the perception of social support, and the static nature of the questionnaire, which may not capture changes in social networks over time.

See Also

• Social Support
• Psychological Assessment
• Mental Health

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