Examination of the Validity of the Social Support Survey Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis |
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| Authors: | Tim Rees Lew Hardy David K Ingledew Lynne Evans |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences , University of Exeter , USA;2. School of Sport, Health, and Exercise Sciences , University of Wales , USA;3. School of Psychology , University of Wales , USA;4. School of Sport, Physical Education, and Recreation , University of Wales Institute , USA |
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| Abstract: | Abstract The Social Support Survey (SSS), validated by Richman, Rosenfeld, and Hardy (1993), is a multidimensional self-report measure of social support tested with student athletes. The SSS contains eight dimensions of support. For each dimension of support the same four questions are posed. The SSS could, therefore, be scored in two ways: (a) to derive a score for the support dimensions; (b) to derive a score for the questions posed across all eight support dimensions. Confirmatory factor analyses of the SSS on 416 university athletes revealed poor fits to models for both the eight support dimensions and the four questions across all eight dimensions. This problem was clarified by using a multitrait-multimethod model, which led to improved model fit but revealed that most of the SSS items were two-dimensional. Caution should, therefore, be exercised in using the SSS as a measure of multidimensional social support. |
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| Keywords: | measurement multitrait-multimethod multidimensional social support |
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