title: The development of a measure of social support: the Significant Others (SOS) Scale.
abstract: A description is presented of the development of a new scale to measure social support which is called the Significant Others (SOS) Scale. The scale measures different functional resources of social support that may be provided by a number of significant role relationships within an individual's social network. Preliminary results from a sample of mature students show that the scale has good six-month test-retest reliability, and significantly distinguishes between depressed and non-depressed respondents. Details of a short form of the scale currently being developed are also presented.
authors.affiliation: MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, UK.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Power
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Champion
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Aris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires