Abstract
Objectives: The Illness-specific Social Support Scale (ISSS), originally developed by Revenson and Schiaffino (1990), has been adapted to the German language (SSUK) by Ramm and Hasenbring (2003) for N = 154 patients with malignant haematological diseases. Aim of the study is the validation of the SSUK on a considerable group of breast cancer patients.
Methods: The SSUK has been psychometrically re-examined on representative samples of N = 1181 breast cancer patients.
Results: Factor- and reliability analysis confirm the two scales Positive Support and Detrimental Interaction and show internal consistencies with Cronbachs α = 0,94 and 0,76. Validity of the SSUK was examined using the questionnaire “Fragebogen zur Sozialen Unterstützung” (F-SOZU-K22) i. a., which showed significant correlations with the scales Positive Support (r = 0,74, p < 0,001) and Detrimental Interaction (r = .0,41, p < 0,001). Correlations with other instruments, e.g. HADS-D and SF-8, refer to good construct validity.
Conclusion: Due to high internal consistencies as well as convincing criterion and construct validity the SSUK can be recommended for further use for chronic ill people.
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