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
Item scores are averaged to produce a mean score.
Total scores range from 1 to 5. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low social support: 1 – 2
- Adequate social support: 3 – 5
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.