The Questionnaire on the Frequency of and Satisfaction with
Social Support (QFSSS) was designed to assess the frequency of and the
degree of satisfaction with perceived social support received from differ ent sources in relation to three types of support: emotional, informational,
and instrumental. This study tested the reliability of the questionnaire
scores and its criterion and structural validity. The data were drawn from
survey interviews of 2042 Spanish people. The results show high internal
consistency (values of Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .763 to .952). The
correlational analysis showed significant positive associations between
QFSSS scores and measures of subjective well-being and perceived social
support, as well as significant negative associations with measures of lone liness (values of Pearson’s r correlation ranged from .11 to .97). Confirma tory factor analysis using structural equation modelling verified an internal
4-factor structure that corresponds to the sources of support analysed:
partner, family, friends, and community (values ranged from .93 to .95 for
the Goodness of Fit Index (GFI); from .95 to .98 for the Comparative Fit
Index (CFI); and from .10 to .07 for the Root Mean Square Error of Ap proximation (RMSEA)). These results confirm the validity of the QFSSS
as a versatile tool which is suitable for the multidimensional assessment of
social support.
