Perceived social support: psychometric properties of the MSPSS in normal and pathological groups in a developing country.

The factorial structure, reliability and construct validity of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were investigated in Turkey to check the generality of some of the previous findings from Western samples. Using samples consisting of normals and subjects with medical or mental health problems, the original three factors (subscales) were obtained. The internal consistencies of the MSPSS and its subscales were high. In general, the scales correlated significantly in the expected direction with measures of depression and anxiety, thus supporting the construct validity of the MSPSS. Among the samples, subjects with psychiatric/psychological problems perceived, in general, the least social support. This result further contributed to the construct validity of the scale.