The DOI matches its Crossref record; 57 of the 58 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The MOS social support survey
Abstract
This paper describes the development and evaluation of a brief, multidimensional, self-administered, social support survey that was developed for patients in the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS), a two-year study of patients with chronic conditions. This survey was designed to be comprehensive in terms of recent thinking about the various dimensions of social support. In addition, it was designed to be distinct from other related measures. We present a summary of the major conceptual issues considered when choosing items for the social support battery, describe the items, and present findings based on data from 2987 patients (ages 18 and older). Multitrait scaling analyses supported the dimensionality of four functional support scales (emotional/informational, tangible, affectionate, and positive social interaction) and the construction of an overall functional social support index. These support measures are distinct from structural measures of social support and from related health measures. They are reliable (all Alphas greater than 0.91), and are fairly stable over time. Selected construct validity hypotheses were supported.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Interview questions were informed by the COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Survey [19], Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale [20], Food Security Module from the US Department of Agriculture [21], and Everyday Discrimination Scale [22].”
From Material Hardship and Stress from COVID-19 in Immigrant Chinese American Families with Infants (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“The interview guide (Table 1) was informed by domains of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale, a validated scale that assesses informational, emotional, and material social support (Sherbourne & Stewart, 1991).”
From Infant Feeding Practices and Social Support Networks Among Immigrant Chinese American Mothers With Economic Disadvantage in New York City (2023) · cites this paper as Sherbourne & Stewart, 1991
In the citing paper
“It had excellent reliability with 0.97 for the overall scale and subscales with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.96, 0.94, 0.91, and 0.92, respectively.”
From A randomised controlled trial comparing internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) with and without main carer access versus treatment-as-usual for depression and anxiety among breast cancer survivors: Study protocol (2021) · cites this paper as Sherbourne and Stewart, 1991
In the citing paper
“Perceived social support was measured in the baseline questionnaire with the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS)–Social Support Survey [56]. This validated scale contains 19-items”
In the citing paper
“younger cancer patients experience higher levels of distress than older cancer patients [44]”
From Uptake and adherence to an online intervention for cancer-related distress: older age is not a barrier to adherence but may be a barrier to uptake (2017) · cites this paper as [44]
Citations
Cites
Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests
Cronbach, L. J. (1951) · Psychometrika · doi:10.1007/bf02310555 · Cited by 43,931
Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures.
Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.88.3.588 · Cited by 20,015
Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310 · Cited by 18,093
BERKMAN, L. F., & SYME, S. L. (1979) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112674 · Cited by 5,341
Work Stress and Social Support.
Deutsch, S. E., & House, J. S. (1983) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2069001 · Cited by 4,768
Ross, C. E., Cohen, S., & Syme, S. L. (1986) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2071725 · Cited by 3,927
The MOS Short-form General Health Survey: Reliability and Validity in a Patient Population
Stewart, A. L., Hays, R. D., & Ware, J. E. (1988) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/00005650-198807000-00007 · Cited by 3,339
Self-citationAssessing social support: The Social Support Questionnaire.
Sarason, I. G., Levine, H. M., Basham, R. B., & Sarason, B. R. (1983) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.44.1.127 · Cited by 3,067
The functioning and well-being of depressed patients. Results from the Medical Outcomes Study
Wells, K. B. (1989) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.262.7.914 · Cited by 2,826
Positive Events and Social Supports as Buffers of Life Change Stress 1
Cohen, S., & Hoberman, H. M. (1983) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1983.tb02325.x · Cited by 2,675
Social support: An interactional view.
Sarason, B. R., Sarason, I. G., & Pierce, G. R. (1990) · Wiley eBooks · Cited by 2,657
Functional Status and Well-being of Patients With Chronic Conditions
Stewart, A. L. (1989) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1989.03430070055030 · Cited by 2,309
Self-citationMeasuring the Functional Components of Social Support
Cohen, S., Mermelstein, R., Kamarck, T., & Hoberman, H. M. (1985) · Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-5115-0_5 · Cited by 2,296
Stewart, A. L. (1989) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.262.7.907 · Cited by 2,095
Self-citationThe structure of psychological distress and well-being in general populations.
Veit, C. T., & Ware, J. E. (1983) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-006x.51.5.730 · Cited by 2,094
HOUSE, J. S., ROBBINS, C., & METZNER, H. L. (1982) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113387 · Cited by 1,381
Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications
Sarason, I. G., & Sarason, B. R. (1985) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-5115-0 · Cited by 1,347
The health-related functions of social support
Schaefer, C. A., Coyne, J. C., & Lazarus, R. S. (1981) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf00846149 · Cited by 1,326
The Duke???UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire
Broadhead, W. E., Gehlbach, S. H., de Gruy, F., & Kaplan, B. H. (1988) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/00005650-198807000-00006 · Cited by 1,324
Social Networks and Social Support
Gottlieb, B. H. (1981) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,296
Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching.
Cutrona, C. E., & Russell, D. W. (1990) · Cited by 1,124
SOCIAL SUPPORT AND MORTALITY IN AN ELDERLY COMMUNITY POPULATION1
Blazer, D. G. (1982) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113351 · Cited by 1,019
The Development of an Instrument to Measure Social Support
Norbeck, J. S., Lindsey, A. M., & Carrieri, V. L. (1981) · Nursing Research · doi:10.1097/00006199-198109000-00003 · Cited by 742
Issues in the study and application of social support.
Cohen, S., & Syme, S. L. (1985) · Cited by 738
Conceptualization and Measurement of Health for Adults in the Health Insurance Study
Stewart, A., Ware, J. E., Brook, R. H., & Davies, A. R. (1978) · Cited by 641
Self-citationOrdinal Measures in Multiple Indicator Models: A Simulation Study of Categorization Error
Johnson, D. R., & Creech, J. C. (1983) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2095231 · Cited by 547
Development of a Brief Screening Instrument for Detecting Depressive Disorders
Burnam, M. A., Wells, K. B., LEAKE, B. D., & Landsverk, J. L. (1988) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/00005650-198808000-00004 · Cited by 501
Principles of Psychological Measurement
Dale, R. R., & Helmstadter, G. C. (1968) · British Journal of Educational Studies · doi:10.2307/3119229 · Cited by 487
Social support in the adjustment of pregnant adolescents. Assessment issues
Barrera, M. (1981) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 482
The PRQ???A Social Support Measure
Brandt, P. A., & Weinert, C. (1981) · Nursing Research · doi:10.1097/00006199-198109000-00007 · Cited by 413
A Model of Mental Health, Life Events, and Social Supports Applicable to General Populations
Williams, A. W., Ware, J. E., & Donald, C. A. (1981) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136675 · Cited by 378
Modes of social support: The social support behaviors (SS‐B) scale
Vaux, A., Riedel, S. L., & Stewart, D. (1987) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/bf00919279 · Cited by 346
Pearson's R and Coarsely Categorized Measures
Bollen, K. A., & Barb, K. H. (1981) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2094981 · Cited by 344
Assessment of methods for measuring social support.
Heitzmann, C. A., & Kaplan, R. M. (1988) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037//0278-6133.7.1.75 · Cited by 296
Methodological issues in social support and social network research
O’Reilly, P. (1988) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(88)90179-7 · Cited by 278
Measuring Health Perceptions in the Health Insurance Experiment
Davies, A. R., & Ware, J. E. (1981) · Cited by 271
Assessment of methods for measuring social support.
Heitzmann, C. A., & Kaplan, R. M. (1988) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.7.1.75 · Cited by 225
Glaros, A. G., & Kline, R. B. (1988) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/1097-4679(198811)44:6 · Cited by 198
Advances in the Measurement of Functional Status: Construction of Aggregate Indexes
Stewart, A. L., Ware, J. E., & Brook, R. (1981) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/00005650-198105000-00001 · Cited by 191
Self-citationThe relationship of social support and health
Bloom, J. R. (1990) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(90)90162-l · Cited by 190
The measurement of social support in population surveys
Orth‐Gomér, K., & Undén, A. (1987) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(87)90142-0 · Cited by 172
The structure of self-reported health in chronic disease patients.
Hays, R. D., & Stewart, A. L. (1990) · Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/1040-3590.2.1.22 · Cited by 159
Self-citationUser's Guide for the Multitrait Analysis Program (MAP):
Hays, R. D., Hayashi, T., Carson, S., & Ware, J. (1988) · Cited by 156
The measurement of social support.
Donald, C. A., & Ware, J. E. (1984) · Cited by 151
The role of social support and life stress events in use of mental health services
Sherbourne, C. D. (1988) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(88)90205-5 · Cited by 134
Self-citationSocial Networks, Social Support, and Health Status: A Review
Ell, K. (1984) · Social Service Review · doi:10.1086/644168 · Cited by 121
Conceptual and Theoretical Dilemmas Facing Social Support Research
Wilcox, B. L., & Vernberg, E. M. (1985) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-5115-0_1 · Cited by 98
Pollack, L. E., & Harris, R. (1983) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.2466/pr0.1983.53.2.466 · Cited by 95
Stewart, A. L., & KAMBERG, C. J. (1992) · Cited by 90
Self-citationBrown, S. D., Brady, T., Lent, R., Wolfert, J., & Hall, S. (1987) · Journal of Counseling Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0167.34.3.337 · Cited by 84
Ware, J. E., Johnston, S. A., Davies, A. R., & Brook, R. H. (1979) · Cited by 70
Li, L., Ji, G., Liang, L.-J. F., Ding, Y., Tian, J., & Xiao, Y. (2011) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.07.013 · Cited by 56
Ware, J. (1978) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 36
The structure of social relationships: Analysis of a survey instrument
Duncan‐Jones, P. (1981) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/bf00582688 · Cited by 28
Sherbourne, C. D., Stewart, A. L., & Wells, K. B. (1992) · Cited by 25
Self-citationResponse Alternatives in Likert Scaling
Johnson, W. L., & Dixon, P. N. (1984) · Educational and Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/0013164484443003 · Cited by 21
Social Support Networks: A Literature Study
Lentjes, S., & Jonker, J. M. L. (1985) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-009-5141-9_1 · Cited by 5
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Rogers W. McGlynn E., Berry S. et al. Survey design and data collection. In Measuring Behavioral Functioning and Well-being: The Medical Outcomes Study Approach (Edited by Stewart A. and Ware J.E. Jr). In Press.
- Stewart A. and Ware J.E. Jr(Eds) Measuring Behavioral Functioning and Well-being: The Medical Outcomes Study Approach. In press.
- Cutrona, 1987, The provisions of social relationships and adaptation to stress, Vol. 1
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The brief resilience scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back
Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1080/10705500802222972 · Cited by 6,439
Lubben, J., Blozik, E., Gillmann, G., Iliffe, S., von Renteln Kruse, W., Beck, J. C., & Stuck, A. E. (2006) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/46.4.503 · Cited by 2,123
Psychological Sequelae of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks in New York City
Galea, S., Ahern, J., Resnick, H. S., Kilpatrick, D. G., Bucuvalas, M. J., Gold, J., & Vlahov, D. (2002) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmsa013404 · Cited by 1,905
Predicting chemotherapy toxicity in older adults with cancer: a prospective multicenter study
Hurria, A., Togawa, K., Mohile, S. G., Owusu, C., Klepin, H. D., Gross, C. P., Lichtman, S. M., Gajra, A., Bhatia, S., Katheria, V., et al. (2011) · Journal of Clinical Oncology · doi:10.1200/jco.2011.34.7625 · Cited by 1,841
The effect of patient race and socio-economic status on physicians' perceptions of patients
van Ryn, M., & Burke, J. (2000) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(99)00338-x · Cited by 1,509
Metadata
- Authors
- Sherbourne, C. D., & Stewart, A. L.
- Affiliations
- RAND Corporation (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- ORCID
- Stewart, Anita L.
- Venue
- Social Science & Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1991-01
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 705-714
- ISSN
- 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2110356839
- Cited by
- 6,643
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 261 · 2025: 343 · 2024: 360 · 2023: 388 · 2022: 405 · 2021: 507 · 2020: 390 · 2019: 392 · 2018: 307 · 2017: 301 · 2016: 343 · 2015: 317 · 2014: 299 · 2013: 262 · 2012: 265
- FWCI
- 11.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Research and Theory › Health Education and Validation
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Keywords
- social support, Medical Outcomes Study, chronic disease, functional social support, emotional support, information support, tangible support, affectionate support, positive social interaction, construct validity, reliability statistics, scale development, self-administered questionnaire
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Health Status, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Middle Aged, Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Support, Statistics as Topic, Reproducibility of Results
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
