Social support at university scale, a brief index

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Assessing social support is crucial for understanding college student well-being.
• Existing measures may not be brief or specifically tailored for university environments.
• The Social Support at University Scale was developed to address this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Social Support at University Scale.
• To assess its reliability and validity in a sample of college students.
• To compare its performance with established measures of social support and psychological well-being.

Main Methods:

• A 3-item scale, the Social Support at University Scale, was administered to 90 college students.
• Psychometric properties were assessed, including internal consistency and validity.
• Correlations were examined with the Short-Form Social Support Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Main Results:

• The Social Support at University Scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability (alpha = .68).
• External validity was supported by differences between student and staff samples.
• Concurrent and criterion validity were indicated by significant correlations with generic social support, perceived stress, anxiety, and depression.

Conclusions:

• The Social Support at University Scale is a reliable and valid brief measure for assessing social support in college students.
• Its findings align with established correlates of social support, including perceived stress and mental health indicators.
• This scale offers a practical tool for researchers and practitioners in higher education settings.