Scale Overview
The Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire – DUFSS was developed by Broadhead, W.E., Gehlbach, S.H., de Gruy, F.V., Kaplan, B. H. (1988). It is designed to measure Functional Social Support. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 8 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Confidant Support, Affective Support.
| Factor / Subscale |
Items |
N |
| Confidant Support |
3,4,5,7,8 |
5 |
| Affective Support |
1,2,6 |
3 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Much less than I would like, 2 = Less than I would like, 3 = Can't decide, 4 = Almost as much as I would like, 5 = As much as I would like.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 8 to 40. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Social Support: 8 – 29
- Normal to High Social Support: 30 – 40
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.89.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.