assessing social support: the social support …wikieducator.org/images/1/14/sarason-83-ssq1.pdf ·...

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology1983, Vol. 44, No. 1, 127-139

Copyright 1983 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.0022-3514/83/4401-0127S00.75

Assessing Social Support: The Social Support Questionnaire

Irwin G. Sarason, Henry M. Levine, Robert B. Basham, and Barbara R. SarasonUniversity of Washington

A measure of social support, the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), is described,and four empirical studies employing it are presented. The SSQ yields scores for(a) perceived number of social supports and (b) satisfaction with social supportthat is available. Three of the studies deal with the SSQ's psychometric properties,its correlations with measures of personality and adjustment, and the relation ofthe SSQ to positive and negative life changes. The fourth study is an experimentalinvestigation of the relation between social support and persistence in workingon a complex, frustrating task. The research reported suggests that the SSQ is areliable instrument and that social support is (a) more strongly related to positivethan negative life changes, (b) more related in a negative direction to psychologicaldiscomfort among women than men, and (c) an asset in enabling a person topersist at a task under frustrating conditions. Research and clinical implicationsare discussed.

Observations in a variety of settings havehighlighted the positive roles played by socialattachments in psychological adjustment andhealth. Psychotherapists try to provide theirclients with the acceptance needed to pursueself-examination. Soldiers develop strongmutually reinforcing ties with each other thatcontribute to their success and survival. Phy-sicians daily note the salutary effects of theirattention and expressed concern on their pa-tients' well-being and recovery from illness.These types of observations have led to theidea that social support (a) contributes topositive adjustment and personal develop-ment and (b) provides a buffer against theeffects of stress.

Social support is usually denned as theexistence or availability of people on whomwe can rely, people who let us know that theycare about, value, and love us. Bowlby's the-ory of attachment (1969, 1973, 1980) reliesheavily on this interpretation of social sup-port. When social support, in the form of anattachment figure, is available early in life,Bowlby believes children become self-reliant,learn to function as supports for others, andhave a decreased likelihood of psychopathol-ogy in later life. Bowlby has also concluded

This research was supported by Office of Naval Re-search Contract No. N00014-80-C-0522, NR 170-908.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Irwin G. Sar-ason, Department of Psychology, NI-25, University ofWashington, Seattle, Washington 98195.

that the availability of social support bolstersthe capacity to withstand and overcome frus-trations and problem-solving challenges.

A variety of types of evidence seems tosupport this concept of social support. Forexample, Miller and Lefcourt have recentlyobtained results consistent with this inter-pretation (Miller & Lefcourt, Note 1, Note2), as did Hirsch (1980). Bronfenbrenner(1961) found that the rated leadership andresponsibility of 16-year-old boys and girlswas related to family interaction patterns.Those adolescents showing the greatest lead-ership and responsibility described their par-ents as being more affectionate and support-ive than did adolescents low on these char-acteristics. Murphy and Moriarty (1976)found that the availability of family supportsincreased children's resilience in the face ofstress. Sandier (1980) found significant rela-tions between stress and social support, onthe one hand, and children?s maladjustments,on the other. In a 30-year longitudinal studyof Harvard University male undergraduates,Vaillant (1974, 1977) found that a supportiveearly family environment was correlated withpositive adult adjustment and lack of psy-chiatric disorder.

In addition to evidence that the availabilityof childhood social support is related to per-sonality development and adult behavior pat-terns, there is also evidence of the detrimentaleffects of lack of support in adults. De Araujo

127

128 SARASON, LEVINE, BASHAM, AND SARASON

and associates (De Araujo, Dudley, & VanArsdel, 1972; De Araujo, Van Arsdel, Holmes,& Dudley, 1973) reported that asthmatic pa-tients with good social supports requiredlower levels of medication to produce clinicalimprovement than did asthmatics with poorsocial supports. There is much evidence thatmedical and surgical patients benefit fromattention and expressions of friendliness byphysicians and nurses (Auerbach & Kilmann,1977). Nuckolls, Cassel, and Kaplan (1972)studied lower-middle-class pregnant womenliving in an overseas military community.These authors studied two factors of specialinterest: recent stressful life events and psy-chosocial assets, a major component of whichwas denned as the availability of social sup-ports. Neither life changes nor psychosocialassets alone correlated significantly withcomplications of pregnancy. However, womenhigh in life changes and low in psychosocialassets had many more birth complicationsthan any other group. Sosa, Kennell, Klaus,Robertson, and Urrutia (1980) found that thepresence of a supportive person had a favor-able effect on length of labor and on mother-infant interaction after delivery.

Eaton (1978) reported that the occurrenceof stressful life events is associated with morepsychiatric disorder among those living aloneor unmarried than those living with othersor married. Andrews, Tennant, Hewson, andSchonell (1978) found that the combinationof recent stressful life events, low level of so-cial support, and adverse childhood experi-ences successfully predicted the occurrenceof maladjustment in adults. There is evidencethat depressives tend to report the lack ofavailability of supportive others (Winefield,1979). Henderson (1980) concluded that adeficiency in social bonds may, independentof other factors, be a cause of some forms ofbehavioral dysfunction.

Reasonable as an emphasis on the impor-tance of social support appears to be, the taskof empirically demonstrating the effects ofsocial support has barely begun. One of thebarriers to objective research has been thelack of a reliable, general, and convenient in-dex of social support. Miller, Ingham, andDavidson (1976) and Miller and Ingham(1976) simply determined who their subjects'confidants and acquaintances were. Medalie

and Goldbourt (1976) focused their attentionon the availability of helpful others in copingwith certain work, family, and financial prob-lems. Brim (1974) devised a 13-item scaleintended to measure certain aspects of socialsupport, particularly value similarity. Lubor-sky, Todd, and Katcher (1973) developed aself-administered Social Assets Scale in-tended to weigh both interpersonal assets andliabilities. Renne's Social Health Index (1974)was directed particularly toward the individ-ual's level of functioning in the communityand yields measures of employability, maritalsatisfaction, community involvement, andsociability. A measure devised by Barrera,Sandier, and Ramsay (1981) assessed the fre-quency with which people are recipients ofsupportive actions. A comprehensive butcomplex vehicle for measuring social supportis one developed by Henderson (1980).. His50-question structured interview assesses (a)perceived availability and adequacy of peoplewho can be counted on for assistance in prob-lem solving and emotional support and (b)social integration, its availability and ade-quacy.

The diversity of measures of social supportis matched by the diversity of conceptualiza-tions concerning its ingredients. Weiss (1974)discussed six dimensions of social support:intimacy, social integration, nurturance,worth, alliance, and guidance. Convenientoperationalization of these dimensions hasnot yet occurred. Kelly, Munoz, and Snow-den (1979) delineated three types of socialsupport: personal, intraorganizational, andextraorganizational. According to Caplan'stheory (1974), social support implies an en-during pattern of continuous or intermittentties that play a significant part in maintainingthe psychological and physical integrity of theindividual over time. For Caplan, a socialnetwork provides a person with "psychoso-cial supplies" for the maintenance of mentaland emotional health.

Much more empirically derived evidenceis needed to provide a basis for theoreticaladvances in the area of social support (Heller,1979). Regardless of how it is conceptualized,social support would seem to have two basicelements: (a) the perception that there is asufficient number of available others to whomone can turn in times of need and (b) a degree

ASSESSING SOCIAL SUPPORT 129

of satisfaction with the available support.These two factors in social support may varyin their relation to one another, dependingon the individual's personality. Some peoplemay think that only a large number of avail-able helpers provides sufficient possibilitiesof social support. Others may consider thateven one person is adequate. How gregariouspeople are and how comfortable they feelwith others may determine the number ofsupports they believe necessary. In the sameway, satisfaction with the support perceivedto be available may be influenced by person-ality factors such as self-esteem and a feelingof control over the environment. Recent ex-periences may influence a person to regardthe support available as satisfactory or notsatisfactory.

In this article, we describe a new instru-ment intended to quantify the dimensions ofperceived availability of and satisfaction withsocial support and present reliability andother psychometric data. We also report theresults of a series of studies that provide in-formation about the relations and correlatesof dimensions of social support with othermeasures, including desirable and 'undesir-able recent life events, perceived adequacy ofchildhood relationships, personality charac-teristics (such as depression, anxiety, hostility,extroversion, and self-esteem), and outlookabout the future. Sex differences in these vari-ables are also investigated. In addition, re-sults of an experimental study are presented.The study dealt with the relations betweensocial support and locus of control, on theone hand, and persistence and cognitive in-terference under frustrating conditions, onthe other.

Study 1

The instrument presented in this article isthe product of a series of studies, involvingseveral hundred subjects, that was concernedwith the assessment of social support. Thesepilot investigations dealt with such issues asitem development, reliability, and psycho-metric characteristics. Sixty-one items werewritten to sample the great variety of situa-tions in which social support might be im-portant to people. These items were admin-istered to college students who were asked to

Table 1Sample Social Support Questionnaire(SSQ) Items

SSQ item

1. Whom can you really count on to listen to you whenyou need to talk?

2. Whom could you really count on to help you out ina crisis situation, even though they would have togo out of their way to do so?

3. Whom can you really count on to be dependablewhen you need help?

4. With whom can you totally be yourself?5. Who do you feel really appreciates you as a person?6. Whom can you count on to console you when you

are very upset?

list for each item all of the individuals whoprovided them with support in the situationdescribed. The subjects also rated their levelof satisfaction with the support received.Items that showed low correlations with theother items were eliminated. In addition topreliminary item analyses, pilot investiga-tions were conducted to explore possiblescoring methods for availability of support.Among the methods investigated were com-puting the number of supportive people listedwithin each category of relationship (e.g., im-mediate family, friends, relatives), assessingfrequency of contact and length of relation-ship with supportive persons, and countingthe total number of different individualslisted throughout the questionnaire. The in-tercorrelations among the various indexes ofavailability or amount of support were gen-erally high (most had correlations greaterthan .70). Because the simplest procedurewas a count of supportive persons, the avail-ability index selected was the number of per-sons listed divided by the number of items.

The Social Support Questionnaire thatgrew out of the pilot work consists of 27items. Each one asks a question to which atwo-part answer is requested. The items askthat subjects (a) list the people to whom theycan turn and on whom they can rely in givensets of circumstances and (b) indicate howsatisfied they are with these social supports.

Table 1 lists six items from the Social Sup-port Questionnaire (SSQ). These are the in-structions that introduce the SSQ:

The following questions ask about people in your en-vironment who provide you with help or support. Each


question has two parts. For the first part, list all the peo-ple you know, excluding yourself, whom you can counton for help or support in the manner described. Youmay either give the person's initials or their relationshipto you. Do not list more than one person next to eachof the letters beneath the question.

For the second part, circle how satisfied you are withthe overall support you have.

If you have no support for a question, check the word"No one," but still rate your level of satisfaction. Do notlist more than nine persons per question.

Please answer all questions as best you can. All yourresponses will be kept confidential.

The number (N) score for each item of theSSQ is the number of support persons listed.The social support available to deal with agiven problem is rated on a scale rangingfrom "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied."This yields a satisfaction (S) score for eachitem that ranges between 1 and 6. The overallN and S scores are obtained by dividing thesum of N or S scores for all items by 27, thenumber of items.

Method

Subjects. A sample of 602 University of Washingtonundergraduates was administered the Social SupportQuestionnaire.

Procedure. Mean number (N) and satisfaction (S)scores were computed for each of the SSQ's 27 itemsand for the entire scale. Interitem correlations and re-liability indexes were also computed.

Results

The number scores for the 27 items rangedfrom 2.92 to 5.46, with a mean of 4.25. Themean number of persons listed as supportsfor the entire SSQ was 114.75. The interitemcorrelations ranged from .35 to .71, with amean interitem correlation of .54. The cor-relations of items with the total score (minusthe item being correlated) ranged from .51to .79. The alpha coefficient of internal re-liability was .97.

The S scores for the 27 items ranged from5.12 to 5.57, with a mean of 5.38. The meanS score for the entire SSQ was 145.26. Theinteritem correlations ranged from .21 to .74,with a mean interitem correlation of .37. Thecorrelations of items with the total score(minus the item being correlated) rangedfrom .48 to .72. The alpha coefficient for Sscores was .94.

Separate factor analyses were performedfor the N and S scores. Each of these analysesshowed a very strong first (unrotated) factor.The first factor accounted for 82% of thecommon variance for the N score. The com-parable figure for the S score was 72%. Allfactor loadings exceeded .60 for the N scoreand .30 for the S score. There is good evi-dence that one strong factor underlies eachof the two SSQ scores and that they thus rep-resent different dimensions of the generalconcept. The correlation between the SSQ Nand S scores was .34. It was possible to read-minister the SSQ to 105 subjects. The test-retest correlations for N and S were .90 and.83, respectively (4-week interval).

Discussion

The SSQ seems to have a number of de-sirable psychometric properties. It was foundto have (a) stability over a 4-week period oftime and (b) high internal consistency amongitems.

The modest correlation of .34 betweenSSQ-N and SSQ-S provides a strong basis foranalyzing social support into its components.Certainly, if social support were a unitaryconcept, the SSQ-N/SSQ-S correlation shouldhave been higher. The perceived availabilityof support, reflected by the SSQ-N score, andthe satisfaction with the support that is avail-able, reflected by the SSQ-S score, each ap-pear to be worthy of study and analysis.

Study 2

Having shown that the SSQ had favorablepsychometric properties, we decided that thenext step should be to inquire into the rela-tions between the SSQ and the personalitymeasures to which it might be related. Wefelt that the relations uncovered might behelpful in charting the construct of socialsupport. A review of the literature had led topredictions that those high in social supportmight also be extroverted, have memories ofsupportive relationships in childhood, showless emotional discomfort, and have a moreoptimistic outlook about the future. It alsoseemed wise to assess social desirability be-cause, if this factor is important, it might


Table 2Correlations of Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) With Three Multiple Adjective Affect Check List(MAACL) Scales, The Lack of Protection Scale (LP), the Eysenck Personality Inventory(EPI) Scales, and the Marlowe-Crowne Scale

SSQ

MAACL EPILack of

Anxiety Depression Hostility Protection Extraversion NeuroticismMarlowe-Crowne

127

Males

NumberSatisfaction

n

NumberSatisfaction

-.14-.17

100

-.30**-.39**

-.24*-.22*

100

-.31**-.43**

-.23*-.17

100

-.26**-.36**

-.02-.08

100

Females

-.32**-.22*

.13-.03

28

.35*

.09

-.25-.29

28

-.15-.37*

-.09.24

28

.03

.16

127 127 127 38 38 38

*p< .05.** p< .001.

produce a distorting effect that would influ-ence interpretation of the other results.

Method

Subjects. The subjects were 100 male and 127 femaleintroductory psychology students at the University ofWashington.

Procedure. In addition to the SSQ, the subjects in asingle session were administered the Multiple AffectAdjective Check List (MAACL; Zuckerman & Lubin,1965) and the Lack of Protection (LP) Scale (Sarason,1958). Four weeks after this assessment, it was possibleto administer additional personality scales to a smallgroup of subjects (28 men and 38 women). These mea-sures were the Extraversion and Neuroticism scales ofthe Eysenck Personality Inventory (Eysenck & Eysenck,1968) and the Marlowe-Crowne measure of social desir-ability (Crowne & Marlowe, 1964; Marlowe & Crowne,1961). In addition, a specially constructed ladder ratingquestionnaire was administered. This instrument, basedon Cantril's public opinion survey research (Cantril &Roll, 1971), asked subjects to respond to a series of ques-tions using a 10-step "Ladder of Life." The steps rangedfrom "worst possible" to "best possible" life for the sub-ject. Three items from Bradburn's Positive Affect Bal-ance Scale (1969) were also administered.

Results

The correlations between the number ofsocial supports (SSQ-N) and satisfaction withsocial supports (SSQ-S) were .31 for men and.21 for women (p < .001 in both cases). Table2 presents the correlations between the SSQ,

the MAACL, the LP, the Eysenck PersonalityInventory (EPI) Extraversion and Neuroti-cism scales, and the Marlowe-Crowne scale.

There were significant negative correla-tions for women between the SSQ-N andSSQ-S measures of social support and mea-sures of emotional discomfort, such as theMAACL Anxiety, Depression, and Hostilityscales. A similar result obtained for the Lackof Protection scale, whose items deal withrecollections of separation anxiety in child-hood. The EPI Extraversion measure forwomen was positively correlated with SSQ-N only, whereas the Neuroticism measurewas negatively correlated only with SSQ-S inwomen. As a group, women with low socialsupport appear to be significantly less happyand more introverted than those women withhigh social support. The results for men tendto be in the same direction as those forwomen; however, the relations are not asstrong.

The Marlowe-Crowne scale of social de-sirability did not correlate significantly witheither SSQ-N or SSQ-S for either sex.

There were several significant relations be-tween both the number and satisfaction SSQscores and where subjects placed themselveson the Ladder of Life. For an item inquiringinto where on the Ladder of Life subjects feltthey were at present, the SSQ-N correlation


was .34 (p < .01), whereas the SSQ-S corre-lation was .57 (p < .001). This suggests thatpeople high in social support are more op-timistic about their current life situation thanthose low in social support. For the item,"Where do you think you will stand aboutfive years from now" the SSQ-N correlationwas .21 (p < .05) and the SSQ-S correlationwas .41 (p < .001).

The three yes-no items drawn from Brad-burn's Positive Affect Balance Scale (1969)and relating to the optimism-pessimism di-mension showed an interesting pattern of re-lations. These items dealt with how the sub-ject felt during the past month. Seventy-threepercent of high-SSQ-S subjects said that theyhad felt "on top of the world," whereas only44% of low-SSQ-S subjects responded in thisway. The difference between these percent-ages was significant at the .001 level (t -3.51). Another item asked subjects if duringthe past month they had felt "things weregoing your way." Eighty-three percent ofhigh-SSQ-N subjects said they had felt thingswere going their way, whereas 68% of low-SSQ-N subjects responded similarly (t =2.24). The difference between the two per-centages was significant at the .02 level. Thethird item asked subjects if they had, duringthe past month, been "upset because some-one criticized you." Fifty-three percent oflow-SSQ-S subjects described themselves ashaving been upset over criticism; the com-parable high-SSQ-S subjects figure was 35%(t = 2.02, p < .05). These results suggest thatpeople with high SSQ scores either have morepositive experiences or take a more optimis-tic view of their experiences, or both.

A short questionnaire dealing with wishesand hopes for the future was also adminis-tered. Subjects were asked, "All of us wantcertain things out of life. In terms of whatreally matters in your own life, think aboutyour wishes and hopes for the future. Thenindicate the five hopes from the following listwhich are closest to your own." The list in-cluded a diversity of areas but was particu-larly oriented to material and interpersonalhopes and wishes. Low-SSQ-N subjects moreoften than high-SSQ-N subjects hoped for"a better or decent standard of living" (highSSQ-N, 16%; low SSQ-N, 32%; p < .02); "lei-sure time, recreation, travel" (high SSQ-N,

10%; low SSQ-N, 30%; p < .001); and"wealth" (high SSQ-S, 15%; low SSQ-S, 30%;p < .02). For all comparisons on attitudinalitems (and Ladder of Life scales as well), theresults for SSQ-N and SSQ-S subjects werein the same direction and suggested that low-SSQ scorers were more concerned aboutachieving material success than were high-SSQ scorers.

The results were quite different for itemsdealing with interpersonal relationships. High-SSQ-S scorers were significantly more desir-ous than low-SSQ-S scorers of achieving ahappy family life (p < .03), educational suc-cess and happiness for their children (p <.02), acceptance by others (p < .02), and ahappy old age (p < .01). It would appear thatpeople high in social support are more in-volved in present and future social relation-ships, whereas those low in social support aremore involved in present and future materialconcerns.

Discussion

Correlations of the SSQ with a diversityof measures can help sketch the personalitiesof subjects differing in social support. Forwomen, but not men, low social support wasassociated with relatively unpleasant mem-ories of early parent-child relationships. Forboth men and women, both SSQ-N and SSQ-S correlated significantly and negatively withanxiety and depression as measured by theMAACL. Women's hostility scores were alsosignificantly and negatively correlated, butthe men's only approached significance. Inevery case, these negative correlations weregreater for women than for men, as were thecorrelations between SSQ and the Lack ofProtection scale. The predicted relation be-tween these variables made on the basis ofthe attachment literature was generally up-held. Sex differences may relate to the findingthat women tend to report more symptom-atology than men over a whole spectrum ofdisorders, especially those related to affect(Weissman & Klerman, 1977). Whether, andin what way, these concerns and the insecuri-ties related to childhood separation and re-jection are causes of failure to attain desiredsocial relationships in adult life is a questionthat merits further study. In any case, the


MAACL results suggest that, particularly forwomen, social support is related inversely tostates of psychological discomfort.

The prediction that high social supportand extroversion are positively related wasborne out only by the number scores. TheEPI correlations indicate that the number ofsocial supports (SSQ-N), but not satisfactionwith social support (SSQ-S),.is positively cor-related with extroversion. This result makesintuitive sense. The extrovert has more socialinvolvements than the introvert, and SSQ-Nwould appear tp reflect the number of theseinvolvements. The negative correlations be-tween the EPI Neuroticism scale and bothSSQ-N and SSQ-S are consistent with theMAACL results. They suggest that people whohave fewer social supports and are dissatisfiedwith that state of affairs are more likely thanothers to be anxious and to experience pe-riods of emotional arousal.

The prediction that high-social-support in-dividuals might have a more optimistic viewof the future was also supported. The Ladderof Life and attitude data suggest not only thatpeople low in social support are more emo-tionally labile but that they tend to be morepessimistic about the present and future thanare people high in social support. The pes-simism and emotional tone of the lives ofpeople low in social support may inhibit theirsocial involvements and lead to preoccupa-tions with material concerns, such as theneed for money and success. These materialconcerns may lead to preoccupations withsecurity that inhibit the spontaneity neces-sary for an active social life. These findingsare consistent with the literature on the out-looks of depressed persons and their socialrelationships (Coyne, 1976; Lewinsohn &Talkington, 1979).

Study 3

This study inquired into the relations be-tween social support, the preceding year'spositive and negative life events, internal-ex-ternal locus of control, and self-esteem. Wepredicted, both from the literature review andthe findings of the previous study, that self-esteem would be positively related to highsocial support. Internal locus of control alsowas expected to be related positively to social

support, because those people high in socialsupport should be more skilled at providingfor their own psychological needs and, as partof this effort, would construct a better net-work of supportive relationships. Work onlife events suggests that only negative eventsare related to psychological discomfort (Sar-ason, Sarason, & Johnson, in press). A pos-itive relation between social support and pos-itive events was anticipated, because a widersupport network might be expected to leadto more incidents of reinforcement.

Method

Subjects. The subjects were 295 introductory psy-chology students at the University of Washington.

Procedure. The SSQ and a special version of the LifeExperiences Survey (LES) (Sarason, Johnson, & Siegel,1978) were administered along with two additional in-struments: Rosenberg's self-esteem measure (1965) andNowicki and Duke's 40-item Locus of Control scale(1974).

The modified LES lists a number of life events, suchas "new job," "death of spouse," and "major change infinancial status." If the event occurred in the prior year,respondents rate the effect of the event, the degree towhich the event was expected, and their sense-of controlover the event's occurrence. The Rosenberg Self-EsteemScale consists of 10 true-false items, such as "I wish Icould have more respect for myself." The Locus of Con-trol measure reflects the tendency to see oneself as havinga strong influence over events (internal orientation) incontrast to seeing oneself as being strongly influenced byevents that are out of one's control (external orientation).

Results

In order to compare subjects in varioussegments of the SSQ score distribution, thesubjects were divided into quintiles. Statis-tical comparisons were made among thequintiles.

Using analysis of variance, comparisonsamong the five SSQ-N groups showed a sig-nificant effect for the number of positive lifeevents in the past year reported on the LES,F(4, 290) = 3.24, p < .01, but not for eitherthe LES negative-events score or the LES to-tal-events score. The means for number ofpositive events for the five SSQ-N groups arepresented in Table 3.

The special version of the LES used in thisstudy asked subjects to rate how much eachevent affected their lives. These ratings ex-tended from 1 (no effect) to 4 (great effect).Groups differing in SSQ-N showed signifi-


Table3 .Mean Scores on the Life Experiences Survey (LES) as a Function ofQuintiles of Social SupportQuestionnaire-Number (SSQ-N) Distribution

SSQ-N quintiles

Positive events

No. Effect

Note. Quintiles 1-5 go from lowest to highest.

Expectancy Control

12345

5455645864

3.903.964.074.885.27

11.6612.4014.2315.5717.59

11.3612.1814.4714.7916.94

12.4213.4215.6416.1218.16

cant differences, F(4, 290) = 4.81, p< .001,when these ratings were examined over thenumber of positive events listed by the sub-ject (checked by the subject as "Good" eventsduring the past year). Ratings were summedfor the events checked.

Another special LES score was subjects'ratings of the extent to which they had ex-pected the events checked to occur ("Howmuch did you expect the event would hap-pen?"). This rating extended from 1 (not atall) to 4 (completely). Table 3 shows themeans for this score for the SSQ-N quintiles,F(4, 290) = 4.38, p < .002. The third specialLES rating concerned "To what extent didyou have control over the event's occur-rence?" which was rated from 1 (not at all)to 4 (completely). The means for this ratingof positive events for the SSQ-N quintiles arepresented in Table 3. An analysis of variancefor these five groups was statistically signifi-cant, F(4, 290) = 4.01, p < .004.

It was possible to administer the locus ofcontrol and self-esteem measures to 148 ofthe subjects who had taken the SSQ. Com-parisons of the five SSQ-N groups (definedby the distribution of scores for the original295 subjects) on the Locus of Control andRosenberg Self-Esteem scales yielded statis-tically significant results. The Locus of Con-trol results, F(4, 144) = 2.45, p < .05, weredue to a significantly higher externality meanfor the lowest SSQ-N quintile than for theother SSQ-N quintiles. The Rosenberg result,F(4, 144) = 2.96, p < .02, was due to a higherself-esteem mean for the highest SSQ-N quin-tile than for the other quintiles.

Analyses for SSQ-S quintiles failed to showsignificant differences for the number of pos-itive events checked on the LES. Unlike theSSQ-N comparisons, the SSQ-S quintiles dif-fered significantly in the number of negativeevents checked, F(4, 290) = 4.18, p < .003.The highest SSQ-S quintile checked a meanof 2.72 negative events, whereas the lowestSSQ-S quintile's mean was 4.56 negativeevents. The SSQ-S quintiles did show signif-icant differences on the rated effects of pos-itive events, F(4, 290) = 2.42, p < .05. Thesedifferences were similar to, but weaker than,the comparable SSQ-N quintile compari-sons. Significant in the SSQ-S, but not theSSQ-N, comparisons were quintile differ-ences in the degree to which reported nega-tive events had been expected, F(4, 290) =2.92, p < .02. The lowest SSQ-S quintiles hada mean expectancy rating for negative eventsof 10.93; the comparable mean for the high-est SSQ-S quintile was 7.62. The SSQ-S quin-tiles also differed in rated control over neg-ative life changes, F(4, 290) = 4.54, p < .002,with lower quintiles indicating a feeling ofmore control over negative changes thanhigher scoring quintiles (lowest SSQ-S quin-tile mean= 11.88; highest SSQ-S quintilemean = 7.56). The SSQ-S results for the Ro-senberg self-esteem measure paralleled thosefor SSQ-N, F(4, 290) = 4.98, p < .001, withhigher quintile groups reporting more self-esteem than lower ones.

Discussion

Research on life events has focused in-creasingly on the different implications of


positive and negative events (Sarason et al.̂in press). High frequency of both negativeand positive events combined may be asso-ciated with increased probability of physicalillness, but only the high frequency of neg-ative events appears to be related to psycho-logical distress. The findings in this studybear out this prediction of differential rela-tions with the classes of life events. They sug-gest that positive events may be related to thenumber of social supports, a likely moderatorof stressful life events. People high in thenumber of social supports report not only theoccurrence of more positive events than dopeople who are low in number of social sup-ports but they also report that the positiveevents are more expectable and exert agreater impact on their lives. In addition, theybelieve they have more control over the pos-itive events. Our findings in this regard areconsistent with evidence reported by Lef-court, Miller, Ware, and Sherk (1981) andSandier and Lakey (1982). People high innumber of social supports may experiencemore rewarding interpersonal relationshipsthan do those who are low in social support.

Although the significant SSQ-N differ-ences on the LES occurred only for positiveevents, there were a number of significantSSQ-S differences on negative events. Thisdifference in relation between SSQ-N andSSQ-S quintiles and the two classes of lifeevents also indicates that the number andsatisfaction scores of the SSQ are tapping twodifferent aspects of social support and justi-fies further comparisons between them.

The expectation that internality would bepositively related to social support was borneout by the locus of control measure. However,the question on the LES dealing with the con-trol indicates that a more complex relationmay exist. SSQ-N scores were positively re-lated to belief in control over positive events.For SSQ-S scores, there was a negative rela-tion with belief in control over negativeevents. Thus, both the class-of-event and thetype-of-social-support measures may be im-portant in the relation that occurs.

The prediction that self-esteem is posi-tively related to social support is borne outby this study. This finding complements thefindings of Study 2, because self-esteem and

measures of psychological discomfort shouldbe inversely related.

Study 4

The idea that social support functions asa buffer against the stresses and strains of lifehas been expressed by many writers. Muchclinical evidence and anecdotal data (Sarasonet al, in press) seem to back up the idea thatpositive relationships with significant othersfoster self-reliance and the ability to perseverein the face of obstacles and distractions. Ap-pealing as this concept is, there is a need forexperimental research on the role played bysocial support when people must perform indemanding situations. This study was de-signed to help fill this need. In the previousstudies, all the measures were self-reportquestionnaires. Study 4 deals with the rela-tion of self-report measures to behavior in alaboratory situation.

The study related two individual-differ-ence variables to persistence on a task madefrustrating by virtue of the fact that some ofthe problems assigned to subjects were in-soluble. The task involved solving mazes socomplex that subjects could not be sure thatthe insoluble ones were, in fact, insoluble.Persistence in working on the maze task wasused as a measure of ability to cope with frus-tration. In addition to persistence, cognitiveinterference was examined as a dependentvariable.

The two individual-difference variableswere the number score on the Social SupportQuestionnaire (SSQ-N) and the score on theNowicki and Duke (1974) measure of Inter-nal-External Locus of Control (I-E). It pre-dicted that externally oriented subjects lowin social support would be least able to with-stand the frustration, uncertainty, and threatto self-esteem posed by the maze task.

Method

Subjects. The subjects were 40 undergraduates takingan introductory psychology course at the University ofWashington. Serving in the experiment helped the stu-dents fulfill a course research-participation requirement.Prior to and independent of the maze experiment, sub-jects filled out the Social Support Questionnaire and ,Locus of Control questionnaire. On the basis of scores,on these instruments, they were divided into four groups


Table 4Mean Time (in Minutes) Spent on FirstInsoluble Problem

Locus of control

ExternalInternal

SSQ number score

High Low

12.58 9.7712.26 13.23

Note. SSQ = Social Support Questionnaire.

that comprise a 2 X 2 factorial design. The four groupsconsisted of subjects who were high scorers on SSQ-Nwho were internals, high scorers on SSQ-N who wereexternals, low scorers on SSQ-N who were internals, andlow scorers on SSQ-N-who were externals.

High and low scores on these instruments were definedby scores above and below the medians determined forthe entire class (N =410), which filled out the question-naires. The SSQ-N mean was 99.90; the Locus of Controlmean was 9.75.

The 10 subjects in each of the four experimentalgroups were equally divided between men and women.Because there were no sex differences on the dependentmeasures, the results will be presented for men andwomen combined.

Procedure. The subjects, who were tested individu-ally, were assigned the task of solving four maze prob-lems. They were given 50 copies of each maze and wereinstructed to attempt to solve each problem, taking anew copy after deciding that a solution attempt had beenunsuccessful. After going on to a new copy, subjects wereinstructed not to return to an earlier one. Two of themazes were soluble and two were insoluble.

The subjects were told that there was no time limitand that they could terminate work on the mazes byindicating their desire to do so to the experimenter. Ac-tually, the experimenter allowed the subjects no morethan 30 minute's to work on the mazes.

After the maze task had been terminated, each subjectcompleted the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire(CIQ; Sarason, 1978), which provides a measure of self-preoccupying thoughts that interfere with task perfor-mance. ("I thought about how poorly I was doing" is anexample of the CIQ items.)

Results

Only data for the first insoluble problemare presented, because several subjects' per-sistence on this problem was of such durationthat they could not complete later portionsof the task. Table 4 presents the lengths oftime subjects in the four experimental groupsdevoted to the first insoluble problem. Theonly significant result of an analysis of vari-ance that was performed was for the SocialSupport X Locus of Control interaction, F(\,36) = 4.93, p < .03. Table 5 presents the CIQ

scores for the four groups. Externals reportedmore cognitive interference than did inter-nals, F(l, 36) = 6.60, p < .01, whereas thelow-SSQ-N group reported more cognitiveinterference than did high-SSQ-N scorers,F(\, 36) = 4.87, p < .05. The interaction wasalso statistically significant, F(\, 36) = 5.95,p < .02. As Table 5 illustrates, the main effectdifferences were primarily attributable to theinteraction effects, the group composed ofexternals who were low in social supportshowing more cognitive interference than theother three groups.

Discussion

This study suggests that social support ininteraction with locus of control is signifi-cantly related to both persistence and cog-nitive interference on a complex, challenging,and frustrating task. Persistence plays a pos-itive role in adaptation to life. For example,in an academic environment, long periods oftime may pass without students getting anyfeedback about their work. Students' confi-dence in their ability ultimately to achievetheir goals and their personal security duringperiods of uncertainty help them persist. Itreinforces the picture gained from the threestudies reported earlier and from the theo-retical work that led to the establishment ofthe concept as a basis for experimental study.People who are high in social support seemto have positive self-concepts, be low in anx-iety as reflected by cognitive interference, andhave a belief in their own ability to controlaspects of their environment. The task in thepresent study was a challenging, somewhatstressful one for the subjects. The results sug-gest that a high level of social support, com-bined with an internal locus of control, may

Table 5Cognitive Interference Questionnaire(CIQ) Scores

Social support

Locus of control High SSQ Low SSQ

ExternalInternal

21.2021.00

28.6020.90

Note. SSQ = Social Support Questionnaire.


function as a buffer against the deleteriouseffects of stress.

This study suggests that the experimentalmanipulation of social support may be usefulin providing a better understanding of theconcept. People who differ in perceived sup-port may respond in different ways to exper-imentally created support conditions. Sara-son's recent study (1981) suggests two waysof experimentally manipulating social sup-port.

General Discussion

The discussion following each study com-ments on the relations found between socialsupport and specific variables investigated.Those sections also explore the implicationsof the findings in terms of predictions madefrom earlier theoretical work and experi-ments on the topic. Therefore, this sectionwill focus only on the more general impli-cations of these studies.

We have described a new instrument de-signed to measure social support. The reli-ability of the instrument is quite high and itscorrelations with other measures contributesteps to understanding the relation of socialsupport to personality indexes of well-beingand self-esteem. The SSQ does not seem tobe highly biased by the social desirability re-sponse set. The SSQ investigates two aspectsof social support: (a) the number of perceivedsocial supports in a person's life and (b) thedegree to which they are personally satisfying.The variables—perceived number of sup-ports and satisfaction with supports—weredemonstrated to be two rather separate as-pects of the general concept. The studies re-ported here show that both these factors needto be considered separately in future re-search.

SSQ scores are related to the experienceof anxiety, depression, and hostility. However,it is also clear (Study 2) that men and womenshow different relations between their SSQscores and these personality variables. Thisfinding may be a function of women's ten-dency to admit to more symptomatologythan do men (Weissman & Klerman, 1977).

People high in social support seem to ex-perience more positive (desirable) events intheir lives, have higher self-esteem, and take

a more optimistic view of life than do peoplelow in social support. In general, low socialsupport seems related to an external locus ofcontrol, relative dissatisfaction with life, anddifficulty in persisting on a task that does notyield a ready solution.

Although the studies reported here areonly beginning steps in mapping the socialsupport construct, they do suggest that theSSQ may be a useful instrument in quanti-fying the perceived availability of and satis-faction with social supports. Baseline mea-sures of these variables can be used to assesschanges that take place in a person's life. Forexample, Are there changes in perceived so-cial support as a function of experiences likepsychotherapy and illness? Social supportmeasures could also play roles in experimen-tation in the areas of personality and socialpsychology. For example, Do people differingin social support differ in helping behaviorand their response to attitude-change manip-ulations? How can supportive relationshipswithin complex organizations (for example,the military, schools, clinics) be enhanced soas to maximize performance and minimizeunwanted stress?

One of the most important questionsabout social support concerns the relationsbetween social support and social skills. Dopeople have many or few social supports be-cause of their levels of social skill? To whatdegree can social skills be regarded as out-comes of socially supportive experiences ear-lier in one's life? Social support and socialskills may be related in complex ways. Clin-ical, developmental, and experimental stud-ies are needed to provide information aboutthese relations.

Of equal importance, perhaps, is the ques-tion of whether, and if so how, social supportfunctions as a buffer against stress. In Sara-son's investigation (1981), mentioned earlier,social support was studied as a manipulatedrather than as^n assessed characteristic. Heshowed that performance and self-preoccu-pation (as measured by the Cognitive Inter-ference Questionnaire) were affected byspecially created opportunities for socialassociation and acceptance by others.Performance increased and self-preoccupa-tion decreased as a function of social supportmanipulations. The time now seems ripe for


studies that investigate social support simul-Janeously from assessment and experimentalstandpoints.

Recent discussions on the role of socialsupport have greatly proliferated in the clin-ical literature. More often than not, they havebeen presented on conceptual and conjec-tural bases. Empirical approaches to socialsupport research are now necessary in orderto disentangle the relative contributions ofperceived support, satisfaction with supportperceived to be available, actual supportavailable in the environment, and personalitymoderator variables to both the acquisitionand the effectiveness of social support. Thework reported here presents a potentiallyuseful tool for such research and suggestspossibly fruitful avenues of approach for so-cial support investigation.

Reference Notes1. Miller, R. S., & Lefcourt, H. M. Social intimacy: An

important moderator of stressful life events. Unpub-lished manuscript, University of Waterloo, 1980.

2. Miller, R. S., & Lefcourt, H. M. The assessment ofsocial intimacy. Unpublished manuscript, Universityof Waterloo, 1980.

References

Andrews, G., Tennant, C, Hewson, D., & Schonell, M.The relation of social factors to physical and psychi-atric illness. American Journal of Epidemiology, 1978,108, 27-35.

Auerbach, S. M., & Kilmann, P. R. Crisis intervention:A review of outcome research. Psychological Bulletin,1917,84, 1189-1217.

Barrera, M., Jr., Sandier, I. N., & Ramsay, T. B. Prelim-inary development of a scale of social support: Studieson college students. American Journal of CommunityPsychology, 1981, 9, 435-447.

Bowlby, J. Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Lon-don: Hogarth Press, 1969.

Bowlby, J. Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation: Anx-iety and anger. London: Hogarth Press, 1973.

Bowlby, J. Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss. New York:Basic Books, 1980.

Bradburn, N. M. The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago, 111.: Aldine, 1969.

Brim, J. A. Social network correlates of avowed happi-ness. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1974,58, 432-439.

Bronfenbrenner, U. Some familial antecedents of re-sponsibility and leadership. In L. Petrullo & B. M.Bass (Eds.), Leadership and interpersonal behavior.New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1961.

Cantril, A. H., & Roll, C. W. Hopes and fears of theAmerican people. New York: Universe Books, 1971.

Caplan, G. Support systems and community mentalhealth. New York: Behavioral Publications, 1974.

Coyne, J. C. Depression and the responses of others.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1976,85, 186-193.

Crowne, D., & Marlowe, D. The approval motive. NewYork: Wiley, 1964.

De Araujo, G., Dudley, D. L., & Van Arsdel, P. P., Jr.Psychosocial assets and severity of chronic asthma.Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 1972,50, 257-263.

De Araujo, G., Van Arsdel, P. P., Jr., Holmes, T. H., &Dudley, D. L. Life change, coping ability, and chronicintrinsic asthma. Journal of Psychosomatic Research,1973, 17, 359-363.

Eaton, W. W. Life events, social supports, and psychiatricsymptoms: A re-analysis of the New Haven data. Jour-nal of Health and Social Behavior, 1978, 79,230-234.

Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. Manual: Eysenck Per-sonality Inventory. San Diego, Calif.: Educational andIndustrial Testing Service, 1968.

Heller, K. The effects of social support: Prevention andtreatment implications. In A. P. Goldstein & F. H.Kanfer (Eds.), Maximizing treatment gains: Transferenhancement in psychotherapy. New York: AcademicPress, 1979.

Henderson, S. A development in social psychiatry: Thesystematic study of social bonds. Journal of Nervousand Mental Disease, 1980, 168, 63-69.

Hirsch, B. J. Natural support systems and coping withmajor life changes. American Journal of CommunityPsychology, 1980,8, 159-172.

Kelly, J. G., Munoz, R. R, & Snowden, L. R. Charac-teristics of community research projects and the im-plementation process. In R. F. Munoz, L. R. Snowden,& J. G. Kelly (Eds.), Social and psychological researchin community settings. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,1979.

Lefcourt, H. M., Miller, R. S., Ware, E. E., & Sherk, D.Locus of control as a modifier of the relationship be-tween stressors and moods. Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, 1981, 41, 357-369.

Lewinsohn, P. M., & Talkington, J. Studies on the mea-surement of unpleasant events and relations withdepression. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1979,3, 83-101.

Luborsky, L., Todd, T. C., & Katcher, A. H. A self-ad-ministered social assets scale for predicting physicaland psychological illness and health. Journal of Psy-chosomatic Research, 1973, 17, 109-120.

Marlowe, D., & Crowne, D. P. Social desirability andresponse to perceived situational demands. Journal ofConsulting Psychology, 1961, 25, 109-115.

Medalie, J. H., & Goldbourt, U. Angina pectoris among10,000 men: II. Psychosocial and other risk factors asevidenced by a mutlivariate analysis of a five-year in-cidence study. American Journal of Medicine, 1976,60,910-921.

Miller, P., & Ingham, J. G. Friends, confidants, andsymptoms. Social Psychiatry, 1976, 11, 51-58.

Miller, P., Ingham, J. G., & Davidson, S. Life events,symptoms, and social support. Journal of Psychoso-matic Research, 1976, 20, 515-522.

Murphy, L. B., & Moriarty, A. E. Vulnerability, coping,and growth from infancy to adolescence. New Haven:Yale University Press, 1976.

Nowicki, S., & Duke, M. P. A locus of control scale for


non-college as well as college students. Journal of Per-sonality Assessment, 1974, 38, 136-137.

Nuckolls, K. B., Cassel, J., & Kaplan, B. H. Psychosocialassets, life crises, and the prognosis of pregnancy.American Journal of Epidemiology, 1972, 95, 431-441.

Renne, K. S. Measurement of social health in a generalpopulation survey. Social Science Research, 1974, 3,25-44.

Rosenberg, M. Society and the adolescent self-image.Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1965.

Sandier, I. N. Social support resources, stress, and mal-adjustment of poor children. American Journal ofCommunity Psychology, 1980, 8, 41-52.

Sandier, I. N., & Lakey, B. Locus of control as a stressmoderator: The role of control, perceptions, and socialsupport. American Journal of Community Psychology,1982, 10, 65-80.

Sarason, I. G. Interrelationships among individual dif-ference variables, behavior in psychotherapy, and ver-bal conditioning. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psy-chology, 1958, 56, 339-344.

Sarason, I. G. The Test Anxiety Scale: Concept and re-search. In C. D. Spielberger & I. G. Sarason (Eds.),Stress and anxiety (Vol. 5), Washington, D.C.: Hemi-sphere, 1978.

Sarason, I. G. Test anxiety, stress, social support. Journalof Personality, 1981, 49, 101-114.

Sarason, I. G., Johnson, J. H., & Siegel, J. M. Assessingthe impact of life changes: Development of the LifeExperiences Survey. Journal of Consulting and Clin-ical Psychology, 1978, 46, 932-946.

Sarason, I. G., Sarason, B. R., & Johnson, J. H. Stressfullife events: Measurement, moderators, and adaptation.In S. R. Burchfleld (Ed.), Stress: Psychological andphysiological interactions. Washington, D.C.: Hemi-sphere, in press.

Sosa, R., Kennell, J., Klaus, M., Robertson, S., & Ur-rutia, J. The effect of a supportive companion on peri-natal problems, length of labor, and mother-infantinteraction. New England Journal of Medicine, 1980,303, 597-600.

Vaillant, G. E. Natural history of male psychologicalhealth: II. Some antecedents of healthy adult adjust-ment. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1974, 31, 15-22.

Vaillant, G. E. Adaptation to life. Boston: Little, Brown,1977.

Weiss, R. S. The provisions of social relations. In Z.Rubin (Ed.), Doing unto others. Englewood Cliffs,N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1974.

Weissman, M. M., & Klerman, G. L. Sex differences andthe epidemiology of depression. Archives of GeneralPsychiatry, 1977, 34, 98-111.

Winefield, H. R. Social support and the social environ-ment of depressed and normal women. Australian andNew Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 1979, 13, 335-339.

Zuckerman, M., & Lubin, B. Manual for the MultipleAffect Adjective Check List. San Diego, Calif.: Edu-cational and Industrial Testing Service, 1965.

Received January 4, 1982

assessing social support: the social support …wikieducator.org/images/1/14/sarason-83-ssq1.pdf ·...

Documents