Social support among gender diverse people: Are we measuring what we think we are?

To assess social support among gender diverse people, measures normed and validated with cisgender participants are used, most commonly the Multidimensional Scale of Social Support (MSPSS). Despite widespread use, the psychometric properties of the MSPSS have not been systematically investigated among gender diverse people. Thus, it is unclear whether use of the MSPSS is appropriate for this population.

Using a mixed-method approach (e.g. deductive thematic analysis and confirmatory factor analyses), we explored the factor structure of the MSPSS among gender diverse participants (N = 428). The study was conducted in Canada between 2019 and 2020.

After running confirmatory factor analyses on MSPSS items, the factor structure differed from prior studies of cisgender participants. First, support from a significant other did not correlate with support from family or friends, suggesting its inclusion in a global measure of social support may distort findings when all domains are combined. Second although social support from family and friends emerged as two separate domains, qualitative data suggested that the boundaries between these forms of support were unclear. A deductive thematic analysis further highlighted properties of the scale that may not align with gender diverse peoples' experiences.

Overall, these findings raise questions about the interpretation of the MSPSS when used with gender diverse people and suggest that an adapted or newly developed measure is needed.