[Scales for social support for eating habits and exercise: psychometric properties]

Social support can introduce favorable changes in lifestyle to reduce the cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to verify these changes in the clinical population participating in this study and present the psychometric properties of the scales of social support for 'Eating Habits' and 'Exercise' in patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.

135 participants attending a programme for changing lifestyle habits. Sociodemographic, psychological, and lifestyle variables were assessed at the Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves (HUVN) in Granada (Spain) between 2013 and 2014. The following procedures were used: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency, sensibility to change and temporal stability.

The AFC confirmed the original structure of both scales, except for the exclusion of factor 2 (family) from the social support scale for the year. For the social support scale, the local adjustment, all items presented high values of factor loads and individual reliability (λ≥0.64 and R2≥0.41, respectively). For the exercise scale, the local adjustment, the items presented high values of factor loads and individual reliability (λ≥0.62 and R2≥0.38, respectively). Internal consistency values were between adequate and excellent, with Cronbach's alpha figures between 0.714 and 0.864. Regarding sensitivity to change, the experimental group increased the perception of social support for food and exercise. The control group did not show significant differences.

Our results show adequate indices for validity and reliability of the measures. Both measures appeared to be useful to assess social support in patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.