Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support
MSPSSPermission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no licence fee. Cite the original publication.
A 12-item scale measuring perceived adequacy of social support from three sources: family, friends, and a significant other (four items each).
Ready-to-cite methods sentence
Citing this in a methods section? This scale spans more than one discipline, so the style depends on where you publish. See the APA 7 or Vancouver guides, or compare all six citation styles.
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Reliability & validation
Subscales
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_2Questions 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
Related scales
Library entry verified July 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.