Development and validity evidence on the scale of perceived social support for university students (EPSSEU) during the period of social restrictions

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 1474 - 9
• Main Authors: Bruno, Thaís Calcagno Vidon, Custódio, Isis Danyelle Dias, de Menezes-Junior, Luiz Antônio Alves, Meireles, Adriana Lúcia, Neves, Ana Cláudia Morito, Barroso, Sabrina Martins, Carraro, Júlia Cristina Cardoso
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 01.06.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety; Brazil; College students; Colleges & universities; COVID-19; COVID-19 - psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - psychology; Education; Educational aspects; Epidemics; Factor analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Health aspects; Higher education institutions; Humans; Male; Mental depression; Psychological aspects; Psychometrics; Reliability analysis; Reproducibility of Results; Social aspects; Social interactions; Social isolation; Social networks; Social restrictions; Social Support; Students; Students - psychology; Students - statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Undergraduate study; Universities; Young Adult; Brazil; United States > US; Students; Social restrictions; Social support
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18882-3
• ISSN: 1471-2458

This study aims to validate a Perceived Social Support Scale for University Students (EPSSEU) during periods of social restrictions, by focusing on family and university support. This cross-sectional study was conducted with undergraduate students from a public higher education institution. The college students who participated in the study-1353 at baseline and 378 after 6 months-answered a virtual questionnaire containing questions on: sociodemographic and lifestyle data, items proposed for the EPSSEU, Satisfaction with Social Support Scale (ESSS), and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha reliability analysis, as well as discriminant, convergent, and known-group validations were performed. The results showed two factors support from: i) the university and ii) friends and family- which explained 61.82% of the variance in the data. The EPSSEU showed good reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.796) as well as validity, with higher scores among individuals without depression, anxiety, or stress. The EPSSEU shows adequate psychometric qualities and may be a useful instrument for assessing university students' social support in pandemics, social distancing, and remote teaching contexts.