Psychometric properties of the Bangla version of multidimensional scale of perceived social support

Abstract

The Bangla version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS?B) is a popular psychological assessment tool in Bangladesh. It has largely been used to measure perceived social support of Bangladeshi people. In spite of its popularity, it had not gone through an extensive validation procedure yet. Even its psychometric properties were not tested before, except for the test-retest reliability. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of MSPSS?B through a questionnaire survey among 812 adult Bangladeshi people. The MSPSS?B revealed a three-factor structure through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the first split sample (n = 403), explaining 71.64% of the total variance. Acceptable goodness of fit indices (?2/df = 4.293, p = .000, GFI = .920, CFI = .926, TLI = .904, SRMR = .063, and RMSEA = .078) in the MSPSS?B were obtained through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the second split sample (n = 409). The three-factor structure of the MSPSS-B was the same as the original English MSPSS. Acceptable internal item consistencies, significant test-retest reliabilities, reliabilities between two scale versions, convergent and discriminant validities, and measurement invariance between two gender groups were also established in the MSPSS-B through different statistical analyses. Thus, the MSPSS?B with its three factors can be used as a valid and reliable measure to assess the perceived social support of Bangladeshi people.