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 support that is available. Three of the studies deal with the SSQ's psychometric properties, its correlations with measures of personality and adjustment, and the relation of the SSQ to positive and negative life changes. The fourth study is an experimental investigation of the relation between social support and persistence in working on a complex, frustrating task. The research reported suggests that the SSQ is a reliable instrument and that social support is (a) more strongly related to positive than negative life changes, (b) more related in a negative direction to psychological discomfort among women than men, and (c) an asset in enabling a person to persist at a task under frustrating conditions. Research and clinical implications are discussed.

Two studies leading to the development of a short form of the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) are reported. In Study 1 three items selected for high correlations with the total score (SSQ3) were administered to 182 university students together with several personality measures. SSQ3 had acceptable test-retest reliability and correlations with personality variables similar to those of the SSQ. Internal reliability was marginal although acceptable for an instrument with so few items. Study 2 employed three sets of data in developing a six-item instrument (SSQ6). The SSQ6 had high internal reliability and correlated highly with the SSQ and similarly to it with personality variables. The research findings accompanying the development of the short form social support measure suggest that perceived social support in adults may be a reflection of early attachment experience.

Two hypotheses derived from a theory of perceived social support were investigated: (a) relationship-based perceptions of social support are distinct from general perceptions of support, and (b) measures of each construct contribute uniquely to the prediction of loneliness. Ninety-four male and 116 female undergraduates completed measures of loneliness and general perceived social support and the Quality of Relationships Inventory, a new instrument to assess relationship-based perceptions of social support, conflict, and depth in specific relationships. General and relationship-based perceptions of social support were found to be related, but empirically distinct, constructs. Relationship-based perceptions of support and conflict from mothers and friends each added to the prediction of loneliness after considering the contribution of general perceived social support. Implications of these findings for understanding the perceived social support construct are discussed.

Three studies were carried out in which the following topics were investigated: the stability of social support indices, the relation between these indices and measures of parental bonding, and the relation between the indices and ratings of social behavior. The studies demonstrated that social support levels are stable over periods up to 3 years. They also showed that people high in social support reported having received more parental care (affection, interest, empathy) than did those low in social support. High social support subjects were judged by observers to be more competent leaders and problem solvers than were low-support subjects. Female subjects were judged to be more considerate and friendly than male subjects. The results suggest the value of conceptualizing social support as an individual difference variable as well as an environmental provision.

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