Psychometric properties of a Russian version of the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6) in eastern European immigrants

Abstract

Background: The concept of social support and its relationship to physical health and psychological well-being has been well documented. The Social Support Questionnaire [Sarason, Sarason, Shearin, & Pierce (1987) A brief measure of social support: Practical and theoretical implications. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 4, 497–510] is a self-administered questionnaire used to measure the availability and satisfaction with perceived social support an individual has. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of a Russian version of the SSQ6 in a sample of Russian-speaking immigrants residing in Portugal. Methods: The SSQ6 was administered to 555 subjects – Russian-speaking immigrants residing in several regions of Portugal. The questionnaire was administered on a group basis along with a number of other self-report tests as part of a larger mental health status immigrants’ study. Results: The Russian version of the SSQ6 has an internally consistent measure Cronbach’s α 0.885 for the total scale. For the subscale SSQ6N (number of supporters) Cronbach’s a was 0.907; for the subscale SSQ6S (satisfaction of support) Cronbach’s a was 0.921. Two factors were extracted using factor analysis – Number of supporters and Satisfaction with social support.