An international study on measuring social support: interactions and satisfaction

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Psychometrics
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Social support is crucial for patient well-being.
• Existing measures may not fully capture the nuances of social support.
• Two aspects of social support are identified: actual transactions and perceived satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Social Support Questionnaire for Satisfaction (SSQS).
• To determine the relative importance of social support transactions (SSQT) and satisfaction (SSQS) in explaining health-related quality of life.
• To assess these measures in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients across multiple countries.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 744 rheumatoid arthritis patients across France, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
• Assessed psychometric properties of the SSQS, including internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha).
• Employed standardized regression analyses to compare the predictive power of SSQT and SSQS on quality of life.

Main Results:

• The SSQS demonstrated good psychometric properties across diverse national samples.
• Cronbach's alpha values were high for emotional support (≥0.80) and adequate for instrumental support (around 0.60).
• Support satisfaction (SSQS) was a more significant predictor of health-related quality of life than the number of supportive interactions (SSQT).

Conclusions:

• The SSQS is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring satisfaction with social support.
• Perceived satisfaction with social support plays a more critical role in health-related quality of life than the quantity of interactions.
• Both SSQT and SSQS are recommended for comprehensive assessment, used complementarily.