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Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support

MSPSS
psychologysocial scienceshealth sciencesFree for research use

A 12-item scale measuring perceived adequacy of social support from three sources: family, friends, and a significant other (four items each).

Items
12
Response format
7-point Likert
Version
1.0
Subscales
3

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Perceived social support was measured with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS; Zimet et al., 1988), a 12-item scale with good-to-excellent internal consistency (α ≈ .88).

Reliability & validation

Validation population
University students (Zimet et al., 1988)
Cronbach's α
0.88

Subscales

FamilyFriendsSignificant Other

Response anchors

Very strongly disagree · Strongly disagree · Mildly disagree · Neutral · Mildly agree · Strongly agree · Very strongly agree

Known limitations

Measures perceived (not received or structural) support and shows ceiling effects in some samples; the significant-other subscale can be ambiguous for respondents without a partner.

Original citation

Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30-41.

https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2

Questions researchers ask

What does the MSPSS measure?

A 12-item scale measuring perceived adequacy of social support from three sources: family, friends, and a significant other (four items each).

How many items does the MSPSS have?

The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) has 12 items across 3 subscales: Family, Friends, Significant Other.

Is the MSPSS free to use?

The MSPSS is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.

Is the MSPSS reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.88. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the MSPSS, and how do I cite it?

Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., Farley, G. K. (1988). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30-41. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2

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Library entry verified July 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.