Psychometric Properties of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support among Ghanaian Adolescents

Despite the documented number of scales in international literature measuring perceived social support, none of these have been validated in the Ghanaian context. In this paper, we investigated psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) in school-going adolescents in the Northern region of Ghana. In determining the factorial validity, a confirmatory factor analysis yielded a 3-factor structure (Family, Friends and Significant Others) in two independent samples, corresponding to the original factor structure of the MSPSS. The MSPSS demonstrated good internal consistency and correlated negatively with depression. Moreover, support for convergent validity was determined by evaluating the correlation between perceived family and friends support and satisfaction with family and friends measure. Similarly, univariate testing indicated that there were significant gender differences for the subscales of both family and friends, with males showing higher perceptions of support in these two domains. The findings on the psychometric properties of the MSPSS indicates that this instrument is valid tool for measuring perceptions of support in the Ghanaian context.