title: Assessing diabetes support in adolescents: factor structure of the modified Diabetes Social Support Questionnaire (DSSQ-Friends).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the underlying factor structure of friends' enacted support behaviours for adolescents with Type 1 diabetes, confirm it in a second sample, delineate distinctive aspects of friends' support and test the reliability of resulting scale.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included a total of 434 adolescents (54.8% girls), mean age 14.7 years, mean duration of diabetes 6.1 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results from the exploratory factor analysis, including data from a random half of the participants revealed a five-factor solution explaining approximately 48.4% of the item variance. The five factors emerged Guidance and Encouragement (13 items; α=0.91), Help in Critical Situations (7 items; α=0.92), Nourishment (11 items; α=0.88), Empathy (6 items; α=0.83) and Help in Exercise (5 items; α=0.76). Confirmatory factor analysis on the remainder of the sample showed good indices of model fit. Comparison of the factor structure across gender and age also presented an excellent fit. In a second-order factor analysis all five factors loaded on one overall factor, Diabetes Social Support-Friends. Construct validity of the resulting scales was supported by predicted associations of Modified Diabetes Specific Support Questionnaire-Friends scale scores with HbA(1c) , treatment adherence and responsibility, and well-being.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 42-item Modified Diabetes Specific Support Questionnaire-Friends emerged as a reliable and valid scale for Dutch adolescents with Type 1 diabetes and measures five factors of diabetes-specific support from close friends.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ja.malik@yahoo.com
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Koot
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*