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

BACKGROUND: Social support can help older persons to cope with stressful situations. Sheltered housing facilities in German speaking countries therefore aim to promote social support for their residents. The MSPSS is a brief instrument to measure perceived social support, but its psychometric properties have not yet been investigated in a sample of German speaking older persons. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, residents of sheltered housing in Austria were asked to complete the MSPSS and to indicate the frequency of contacts to family and friends. Validity of the scale was investigated by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis as well as by their correlations with frequency of contacts to family and friends. Reliability was determined by Cronbach's Alpha and intraclass correlations for repeated measurements. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis yielded a three-factor solution for the MSPSS, which was, however, only partially supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Correlations with frequency of contact to family and friends partly confirmed the assumptions about the relationships between these factors and the corresponding groups of persons. Cronbach's Alpha was high, and intraclass correlations for most items ranged from fair to good. CONCLUSIONS: The incomplete congruence between the theoretical assumptions regarding the scale and the results of the factor analysis is presumably due to overlapping content between the dimensions of the MSPSS, which can be remedied by reformulating some items. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: A slightly modified version of the MSPSS should be used to assess social support in sheltered housing.