A Deeper Look at the Social Support Index: A Multi-Dimensional Assessment

The role of social support is an important factor in building resilience within families. While robust definitions of social support exist, few assessments parallel these conceptual frameworks. This study tested the psychometric properties of one commonly used measure of social support (SSI) with 651 low income families through a local public housing program. Results of this study show that the SSI can approach a more robust assessment of social support when the measure is used as a multi-dimensional tool. Conclusions offer a subscale scoring system for this assessment which can be used in both research and clinical practice.