Caplan Social Support Scale
Measures the perceived social support an employee receives from their supervisor, co-workers, and spouse, friends, and relatives.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Caplan Social Support Scale was developed by Caplan, R. D., Cobb, S., French, J. R. P., Van Harrison, R., & Pinneau, S. R. (1980). It is designed to measure Social Support. The scale is intended for use with Working adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 12 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Social Support from Supervisor, Social Support from Co-workers, Social Support from Spouse, Friends, and Relatives.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Social Support from Supervisor | 1,4,7,10 | 4 |
| Social Support from Co-workers | 2,5,8,11 | 4 |
| Social Support from Spouse, Friends, and Relatives | 3,6,9,12 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Don't have any such person, 1 = Not at all, 2 = A little, 3 = Somewhat, 4 = Very much.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 48. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Support: 0 – 16
- Moderate Support: 17 – 32
- High Support: 33 – 48
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Supervisor support alpha: .86-.91, Co-worker support alpha: .79, Work-based support alpha: .80.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.