Assessing social support in older adults with cognitive disorders living in institutions

Although social support is a major dimension of well-being, there is a lack of appropriate tools to assess it in older adults with neurocognitive disorders. This study aims to provide a validation of an adapted version of the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (PSSQ) for this population. A secondary objective was to investigate whether psychosocial and cognitive outcomes varied according to the category of persons perceived as available (family, professionals, friends, residents).

113 nursing home residents with neurocognitive disorders were administered the adapted PSSQ and a full clinical examination.

Factor analysis confirmed the structure in two factors (availability and satisfaction with social support). The adapted PSSQ showed satisfactory internal consistency (ω = 0.83-0.84) and good divergent (ps ≥ 0.113) and convergent validity (ps ≤ 0.048). Family members were the most frequently perceived as available. Participants who perceived professionals as available showed a higher level of institutional adaptation (p = 0.005) and tended to report fewer anxiety symptoms (p = 0.069). Those who identified family as available were more satisfied with social support (p < 0.001) and had higher quality of life (p = 0.009).

With good psychometric qualities, the adapted PSSQ is a quick and easy-to-administer tool allowing assessment of social support for residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairment.