[A short scale for measuring social support in the elderly: the SSL12-I]

De SSL12-I is the shortened version of Social Support List--Interaction version, and is meant to be used with elderly people. The instrument consists of three subscales: 'everyday social support', 'social support in problem situations' and 'esteem support'. Each subscale has 4 items. The SSL12-I is initially developed on the basis of a selective research sample (N = 98). The SSL12-I was now been tested in a random sample of elderly people (N = 245). The three principal components, as initially found in the selective research sample and corresponding with the three subscales, stand out even more clearly in the random sample. Internal consistency, as measured with Cronbach's alpha, is .82, .79, .75 respectively for the subscales, and .87 for the total scale. Construct validity of the SSL12-I is satisfactory.