Social support is pointed out by scholars from several areas as one of the factors able to protect and promote health. Current study constructs and validates, through factor analysis, the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS). The pilot version of the PSSS, composed of 29 items, was applied on 437 people - 72 men and 365 women - mean age 23.93 years. Factor analysis revealed the existence of two consistent factors which explained 47.33% of total variance. Factor 1 gathered 19 items related to practical support with Cronbach alpha 0.91, whereas factor 2 gathered 10 items related to emotional support with Cronbach alpha 0.92. Results provided evidences on PSSS as a bi-factorial scale, with two precise and consistent factors. It may be used as a diagnostic or research instrument.
Social support; factor validation; psychological measure
