Social support appraisals during adolescence: a confirmatory factor analysis of the Social Support Appraisals scale

Abstract

Social support has been studied as an important variable, related to several aspects of Human behaviour and psychological well-being. During adolescence, the perception of support from the most important network resources - such as family, peers and teachers - seems to be related to the children's psychosocial adjustment, self-esteem and identity development. This study aimed to observe the psychometric qualities of an instrument developed by Vaux et al (1986) to assess the adolescents' perception of emotional support from family, peers and teachers. The "Social Support Appraisals" scale (SSA) was adapted to Portuguese students between 7th and 12th grades and it was analyzed in its reliability and factorial validity, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability revealed to be better in older students and CFA revealed a hierarchical structure, with a second order factor (emotional support) and three first order factors - emotional support from teachers, peers and family.