Psychometric Evaluation of the Chinese Version of the Perceived Social Support Scale for Older Adults

Background With the deepening of the global aging process, more and more scholars have begun to attach importance to the research on the perceived social support among the elderly. The intention of this study was to introduce and verify the applicability of tools to measure the perceptive social support level of older adults. Methods After acquiring authorization from the authors of the original scale, the perceived social support (PSS) scale for the elderly was adjusted and revised through expert consultation and pre-survey based on the Brislin translation model (translation and back-translation). A total of 627 elderly people from multiple communities in two provinces of China from October 2022 to February 2023 were chose as research targets by convenience sampling method. The translated scale was tested employing item analysis, content validity, structural validity, internal consistency reliability, and retest reliability. Results The final Chinese version scale contained 32 items. The content validity index (I-CVI) at the item level of PSS scale was 0.857ཞ1.000, and the content validity index (S-CVI) at the scale level was 0.964. A total of 5 common factors were extracted from exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 55.558%. As a result of the CFA, χ 2 /df of the modified model was 1.241, NFI = 0.903, GFI = 0.903, IFI = 0.980, TLI = 0.977, CFI = 0.979, RMSEA = 0.027 and SRMR = 0.037. The Cronbach’s α coefficient, split-half reliability and test-retest reliability of the PSS scale were 0.934, 0.715, and 0.887, respectively. Conclusions The Chinese version of the PSS scale for the elderly had good reliability and validity, and was suitable for measuring the level of perceived social support for the elderly in China. Based on the measurement outcomes of the scale, medical staff can raise the level of social support of the elderly and further improve their life satisfaction.