Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support in Iran

Abstract

Background: Social support is a complex and multifaceted construct. Thus, It is important that a given social support scale be theoretically grounded and its purview clearly defined. The purpose of  this study was to examine the reliability, validity and factor structure of the Iranian version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS).

Methods: The sample study included 176 consecutive myocardial infarction (MI) patients admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU) ward of nine hospitals in Isfahan, Iran, and 71 consecutive subjects from the general population. They all fi lled out the fi nal Iranian version of the MSPSS and also 71 participants fi lled out the MSPSS twice over a 2-month period. Factor analysis, Cronbach’s α coeffi cient and Pearson’s correlation coeffi cient correlation were used to analyze data.

Results: Factor analysis of the scores of the patient and healthy samples yielded a three-factor structure, including family, friends and signifi cant others. The percentage of variance explained by the three factors in the patient sample and healthy sample were 77.87% and 78.55%, respectively. Cronbach’s α coeffi cient has been found to be 0.84 for the scale and 0.90, 0.93 and 0.85, respectively, for the friends, signifi cant others and family subscales from the patient sample, and 0.92 for the scale and 0.89, 0.92 and 0.87, respectively, for the friends, signifi cant others and family subscales from the healthy sample. Test–retest stability over a 2-month period yielded 0.84 for the scale and 0.73, 0.78 and 0.84, respectively, for the friends, signifi cant others and family subscales from the healthy sample.

Conclusions: The fi ndings proved the three-factor structure of the Iranian version of the MSPSS and indicated that the Iranian version of the MSPSS is a reliable, valid and acceptable measure of perceived social support.

Keywords: Iranian population, psychometric properties, social support