Social Support Questionnaire – Short Form (SSQSR)

1. Abstract

The Social Support Questionnaire – Short Form (SSQSR), frequently designated in psychometric literature as the SSQ6, is an abbreviated, highly validated instrument designed to assess an individual’s perceived availability of and satisfaction with personal social support. Developed by Irwin G. Sarason, Barbara R. Sarason, Edward N. Shearin, and Gregory R. Pierce (1987) as a direct condensation of the original 27-item Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ; Sarason et al., 1983), the SSQSR distills the assessment of interpersonal support networks into six representative interpersonal scenarios. Each item operationalizes two conceptually distinct dimensions: (1) Support Number (SSQN), which quantifies the structural availability or perceived network size by allowing respondents to list up to nine support providers who meet specific functional criteria, and (2) Support Satisfaction (SSQS), which assesses the evaluative, qualitative adequacy of the perceived support via a 6-point Likert-type rating scale ranging from 1 (“Very Dissatisfied”) to 6 (“Very Satisfied”). Psychometric evaluations consistently demonstrate that the SSQSR retains the robust psychometric architecture of its 27-item parent instrument, yielding high internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha typically ranging from .90 to .93 for SSQN and .90 to .94 for SSQS) and near-perfect correlations (r > .95) with the full-length scale. The scale exhibits sound construct, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity across diverse cohorts, including clinical outpatients, university students, medical populations, and older adults. Its brevity renders it exceptionally suitable for large-scale epidemiological investigations, clinical screenings, and longitudinal health psychology studies where respondent burden must be minimized without sacrificing measurement precision.

2. Keywords

Social Support Questionnaire Short Form, SSQSR, SSQ6, Perceived Social Support, Social Support Number, Social Support Satisfaction, Psychometrics, Irwin G. Sarason, Stress-Buffering Hypothesis, Social Network Assessment

3. Authors

The SSQSR was conceptualized, psychometrically refined, and validated by a distinguished team of clinical and social psychology researchers at the University of Washington:

• Irwin G. Sarason, Ph.D.: Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Renowned for his seminal contributions to personality assessment, cognitive interference, test anxiety, and the psychobiology of social support.
• Barbara R. Sarason, Ph.D.: Research Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Washington. An expert in interpersonal relationships, social competence, perceived social support mechanisms, and marital interaction patterns.
• Edward N. Shearin, Ph.D.: Quantitative researcher and clinical psychologist whose early methodological inquiries at the University of Washington focused on psychometric abbreviation, measurement variance, and scale reduction strategies.
• Gregory R. Pierce, Ph.D.: Professor of Psychology (subsequently affiliated with Hamilton College), whose scholarship systematically explored adult attachment processes, cognitive working models of relationships, and specific social provisions.

4. Purpose

The primary objective underlying the development of the Social Support Questionnaire – Short Form (SSQSR) was to overcome the practical limitations of the original 27-item Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ; Sarason et al., 1983) while preserving its psychometric fidelity. The full 27-item instrument, while thorough, requires respondents to generate open-ended lists of up to nine supportive individuals across 27 distinct situational prompts and subsequently render 27 satisfaction judgments. In clinical trials, psychiatric intakes, multi-wave epidemiological surveys, and psychoneuroimmunological experiments, the administrative burden of the 27-item version often generated fatigue, elevated non-response rates, and compromised protocol adherence.

Sarason, Sarason, Shearin, and Pierce (1987) engaged in an empirical scale-reduction procedure to identify the minimum number of items required to achieve stable measurement of the construct. Through comprehensive item-total correlation analysis and exploratory factor retention strategies, the authors identified six core scenarios that most powerfully indexed the overarching latent constructs of support quantity and satisfaction. The SSQSR fulfills three primary roles across behavioral science disciplines:

• Epidemiological and Health Research: Facilitating rapid, low-burden assessment in large prospective cohort studies examining cardiovascular morbidity, oncological outcomes, neuroendocrine functioning, and mortality risks as moderated by interpersonal resources.
• Clinical Screening and Intervention Planning: Enabling clinical psychologists, social workers, and primary care providers to rapidly screen for severe interpersonal deficits, social isolation, and subjective relational alienation in psychiatric patients presenting with depressive disorders, anxiety syndromes, or trauma-related conditions.
• Theoretical Investigation: Providing behavioral scientists with a reliable tool to independently disentangle the quantitative availability of relational networks from subjective satisfaction, clarifying the comparative predictive power of network breadth versus perceived quality in stress appraisal processes.

5. Psychological Construct

Social support is a multifaceted psychological and environmental construct broadly categorized into structural support (the objective presence and topology of social networks) and functional support (the specific behavioral resources or functions provided by relationships). The SSQSR is grounded in the tradition of perceived functional social support, operationalizing support not as an objective sociological census of network contacts, but as the cognitive appraisal of supportive availability and the qualitative satisfaction derived from that availability.

The conceptual framework of the SSQSR rests upon the explicit operational bifurcation of support into two interdependent, yet structurally separable, subscales:

5.1. Support Number (SSQN)

The Support Number dimension measures the respondent’s subjective perception of the sheer availability of reliable social resources across acute and chronic stress circumstances. For each of the six prompts, respondents list individuals (often designated by initials and relational role, e.g., “M – Mother”, “J – Spouse”) whom they can objectively depend upon. The index is quantified by computing the arithmetic mean across all items, yielding an individual score that can vary from 0.00 to 9.00 support persons per situation. High SSQN scores reflect an expansive cognitive map of accessible helpers, while low scores indicate relational isolation, social vulnerability, or a perceived absence of functional allies in times of adversity.

5.2. Support Satisfaction (SSQS)

The Support Satisfaction dimension measures the respondent’s cognitive-affective evaluation regarding the adequacy, warmth, competence, and reassurance provided by their network. Regardless of whether an individual lists one supportive provider or nine, they independently evaluate how satisfied they feel with that level of support on a 6-point continuum ranging from 1 (“Very Dissatisfied”) to 6 (“Very Satisfied”). Empirical findings have consistently documented that SSQS serves as a more potent predictor of psychological well-being, depressive affect, and existential resilience than SSQN, underscoring the psychometric axiom that perceived relationship quality often supersedes mere social network density.

5.3. Situational Facets Represented in the Six Items

The six items of the SSQSR encompass fundamental domains of functional support:

• Instrumental and Tangible Dependability (Item 1): Focuses on objective reliability and practical assistance when concrete tasks or crisis interventions are needed.
• Tension Reduction and Emotional De-escalation (Item 2): Taps into coping-enhancement and physiological down-regulation under acute pressure.
• Unconditional Acceptance (Item 3): Measures relational security, non-judgmental acceptance, and freedom from fear of rejection despite personal flaws.
• Continuous Altruistic Caring (Item 4): Captures perceived unconditional positive regard and enduring emotional investment independent of circumstantial outcomes.
• Depressive Affect Alleviation (Item 5): Evaluates mood restoration, cognitive reframing, and emotional boosting during periods of demoralization or dysphoria.
• Grief and Distress Consolation (Item 6): Probes deep affective holding, empathy, and somatic consolation in moments of acute sorrow or relational loss.

6. Theoretical Framework

The SSQSR is theoretically situated at the intersection of cognitive appraisal theory, interpersonal coping models, and attachment theory. Four foundational frameworks clarify its construct operationalization:

6.1. The Stress-Buffering vs. Direct-Effects Hypothesis

A seminal paradigm formulated by Cohen and Wills (1985) dichotomizes social support mechanisms into main-effect models and stress-buffering models. The main-effect model proposes that social integration provides regular positive experiences and stable social roles that exert a generalized beneficial influence on biological systems, irrespective of the presence of acute stress. Conversely, the stress-buffering model posits that interpersonal resources protect individuals specifically against the deleterious psychological and physiological consequences of acute life stressors. The SSQSR’s operational architecture captures both mechanisms: the number of available individuals (SSQN) often reflects baseline social embeddedness, whereas satisfaction with support (SSQS) acts as a psychological buffer that fundamentally alters cognitive appraisals of threat, attenuating neuroendocrine reactivity (Uchino, 2004).

6.2. Cognitive Appraisal and Secondary Coping

Drawing on Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping (1984), perceived social support serves as a critical asset during secondary appraisal—the phase wherein an individual evaluates their available coping resources to meet environmental challenges. The SSQSR does not measure enacted (received) support behaviors, which paradoxically can trigger feelings of incompetence or indebtedness; rather, it measures the stable cognitive schema that support would be available if requested, which preserves perceived autonomy and personal agency.

6.3. Relational Schemas and Attachment Theory

Sarason, Sarason, and Pierce (1987) contextualized perceived social support within internal working models of self and others, an orientation directly derived from John Bowlby’s attachment framework. They posited that an individual’s perception of social support is not solely an objective reflection of current interpersonal environments, but an enduring personality predisposition rooted in developmental histories. Individuals who possess secure internal working models expect others to be trustworthy, dependable, and benevolent (elevating both SSQN and SSQS), whereas insecurely attached individuals project systemic doubt onto their interpersonal sphere, leading to degraded support satisfaction scores even within objectively supportive networks.

7. Validity

Extensive psychometric investigations have established robust validity profiles for the SSQSR across cultural contexts, clinical cohorts, and healthy populations:

7.1. Construct and Criterion Validity

In the scale reduction study conducted by Sarason, Sarason, Shearin, and Pierce (1987), the SSQSR demonstrated near-unity criterion correlation with the parent 27-item SSQ. The correlation between the 6-item short form and the 27-item full scale was r = .96 for the Number dimension and r = .98 for the Satisfaction dimension, confirming that the condensation protocol introduced virtually no loss of variance coverage.

7.2. Convergent Validity

Convergent validity is documented through robust associations with standardized psychometric measures of psychological distress, personality traits, and relational health:

• Depressive Affect: SSQS exhibits strong negative correlations with depressive symptomatology as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; typically r = -.35 to -.48) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Individuals reporting lower satisfaction with support consistently manifest higher baseline levels of dysphoria.
• Loneliness: Significant negative correlations are observed between both SSQSR subscales and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980), with correlations hovering between r = -.40 and r = -.55, demonstrating that perceived social support availability and contentment run directly counter to subjective emotional isolation.
• Self-Esteem: Moderate to high positive correlations emerge between SSQS and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (r = .30 to .45), reinforcing the theoretical link between perceived social acceptance and self-worth.

7.3. Discriminant Validity

Discriminant validity analyses confirm that the SSQSR does not merely mirror neuroticism or social desirability bias. Correlations with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale remain negligible to modest (typically r < .15), indicating that respondent evaluations of social support are not primary artifacts of impression management. Furthermore, multi-trait multi-method matrix evaluations confirm that SSQN and SSQS reflect distinct psychometric constructs: the correlation between SSQN and SSQS within the SSQSR is typically moderate (r = .25 to .40), confirming that the perceived breadth of a social network shares meaningful variance with, yet remains functionally independent of, perceived satisfaction.

7.4. Predictive and Health-Related Validity

Prospective investigations validate the SSQSR’s predictive utility for somatic and cardiovascular health outcomes. Higher SSQS scores have been shown to predict reduced cardiovascular reactivity (e.g., lower heart rate and blood pressure elevation) during acute laboratory stress paradigms (Lepore, 1997), enhanced adherence to complex medical regimens in post-operative patients, and lower allostatic load markers over longitudinal follow-ups.

8. Reliability

The SSQSR exhibits exceptional internal consistency and temporal stability, maintaining statistical metrics that approach the original 27-item scale despite a 78% reduction in test length:

8.1. Internal Consistency

In the original validation studies by Sarason et al. (1987), the internal consistency of the SSQSR was calculated via Cronbach’s coefficient alpha:

• SSQN (Number Scale): Alpha values consistently range between α = .90 and .93 across normative adult and collegiate samples.
• SSQS (Satisfaction Scale): Alpha values range between α = .90 and .94, reflecting high homogeneity among the six evaluative ratings.

Cross-cultural adaptations (e.g., Spanish, Japanese, German, and Portuguese validations) have replicated these metrics, with Cronbach’s alphas rarely falling below .85 for either dimension, confirming structural stability across linguistic translations.

8.2. Test-Retest Reliability

The temporal stability of the SSQSR has been demonstrated across varied time intervals, corroborating the theoretical stance that perceived social support functions largely as a stable relational schema:

• Over a 4-week test-retest interval, Sarason et al. (1987) reported stability coefficients of r = .84 for SSQN and r = .80 for SSQS.
• Over extended periods (up to 6 months), retest correlations typically remain within the r = .70 to .78 range in the absence of catastrophic life disruptions, demonstrating adequate trait-like stability while remaining sensitive to genuine interpersonal transitions.

9. Factor Analysis

Factor-analytic investigations of the SSQSR systematically support a stable two-factor orthogonal or correlated model, precisely separating the structural/quantitative indices from the qualitative/evaluative ratings:

9.1. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

Principal components analysis and principal axis factoring with both varimax and oblimin rotations on the 12 observed variables (six number scores and six satisfaction scores) consistently yield a clean two-factor solution accounting for approximately 65% to 75% of the total variance:

• Factor 1: Support Satisfaction (SSQS): The six satisfaction items load strongly on this factor, with primary factor loadings uniformly exceeding .75 (frequently ranging from .80 to .91), and negligible cross-loadings (typically < .15) onto the Number factor.
• Factor 2: Support Number (SSQN): The six number-listing items load heavily onto this factor, with primary loadings ranging between .70 and .88, and similarly minimal cross-loadings onto the Satisfaction factor.

9.2. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Confirmatory factor analyses testing the theoretical two-factor model across large cohorts confirm excellent model fit indices, whereas rival unidimensional models (combining number and satisfaction into a single latent support construct) show poor fit. Standard fit indices for the two-factor model across published psychometric evaluations demonstrate:

• Comparative Fit Index (CFI): ≥ .96 to .99
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI): ≥ .95 to .98
• Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA): .042 to .061 (with 90% confidence intervals bounded below .080)
• Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR): ≤ .045

These structural equation modeling outcomes confirm that perceived network availability and satisfaction reflect distinct latent components that should be preserved as separate indices rather than collapsed into an unweighted aggregate composite.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

The SSQSR is a self-report paper-and-pencil or computer-administered psychometric instrument consisting of 6 core two-part items (totaling 12 operational responses):

• Test Type: Multi-dimensional self-report scale measuring perceived functional social support.
• Item Count: 6 numbered situational prompts, each split into Part 1 (listing people) and Part 2 (rating satisfaction).
• Administration Time: Approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
• Target Population: Adolescents and adults (ages 14 and older) with a minimum 6th-grade reading level.
• Part 1 Response Format (SSQN): Open-ended nomination of individuals. Respondents may list up to 9 people per item by recording initials and relationship (e.g., “T.S. – brother”). If the respondent feels they have no one to turn to for that scenario, they indicate “No one” (scored as 0). The operational range per item is 0 to 9.
• Part 2 Response Format (SSQS): 6-point Likert-type scale assessing satisfaction with the support available for that specific situation:
• 1 = Very Dissatisfied
• 2 = Fairly Dissatisfied
• 3 = A Little Dissatisfied
• 4 = A Little Satisfied
• 5 = Fairly Satisfied
• 6 = Very Satisfied
• Scoring Procedures:
  • SSQN Total & Mean: Count the total number of individuals nominated across all 6 items (ranging from 0 to 54) and divide by 6. The overall SSQN score represents the average number of support persons perceived to be available per situation (theoretical range: 0.00 to 9.00).
  • SSQS Total & Mean: Sum the satisfaction ratings across all 6 items (ranging from 6 to 36) and divide by 6. The overall SSQS score represents the mean perceived support satisfaction (theoretical range: 1.00 to 6.00).
  • Composite Scoring Note: Psychometricians advise against creating a pooled single composite score, as doing so obscures critical clinical profiles (e.g., individuals who have a small network of 1 person but report maximum satisfaction, versus those with a network of 9 individuals who report profound dissatisfaction).

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Social Support Questionnaire – Short Form (SSQSR) was originally derived by Irwin G. Sarason and Edward N. Shearin in an unpublished 1986 University of Washington manuscript and formally published in peer-reviewed form in 1987 (Sarason, Sarason, Shearin, & Pierce, 1987). The instrument is widely considered an open academic psychometric instrument available without licensing fees for non-commercial educational, scientific, and clinical research purposes, provided that standard APA attribution is granted to the authors. Researchers wishing to integrate the SSQSR into commercial digital health systems, proprietary platforms, or fee-for-service clinical interventions should consult the original authors or copyright holders regarding permissions.

12. References

• Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). Basic Books.
• Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310
• Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.
• Lepore, S. J. (1997). Social environmental influences on psychological and physiological processes. In B. H. Gottlieb (Ed.), Coping with chronic stress (pp. 99–126). Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9862-3_4
• McGowan, J. C. (2012). Religious affiliation and gender: Differences in the association between religiousness and psychological distress (Doctoral dissertation). Columbia University. http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/item/ac:174326
• Pierce, G. R., Sarason, I. G., & Sarason, B. R. (1991). General and relationship-specific perceptions of social support. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(6), 1028–1039. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.61.6.1028
• Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(3), 472–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472
• Sarason, B. R., Shearin, E. N., Pierce, G. R., & Sarason, I. G. (1987). Interrelations of social support measures: Theoretical and practical implications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(4), 813–832. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.4.813
• 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. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.127
• Sarason, I. G., & Shearin, E. N. (1986). The short form of the Social Support Questionnaire (Unpublished manuscript). University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
• Uchino, B. N. (2004). Social support and physical health: Understanding the health consequences of relationships. Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.12987/yale/9780300102185.001.0001

13. Items of the Scale (Questionnaire)