(PS4-27) Psychometric Properties of the Spanish version of Kessler’s Perceived Social Support Scale

Abstract Text: Social support is associated with improved relationship functioning (Reifman & Niehuis, 2018). This association is true of support from intimate partners (Cramer, 2004), friends (Özen et al., 2021), and family (Benson, 2020). However, research on the role of social support in Latinx couples is limited. Higher levels of support within Latinx couples have been associated with reduced situational stress (Mann et al., 2010), but there is little additional research focusing on how social support shapes relational trajectories for Latinx couples. While research on the impact of social support on Latinx couples’ relationship functioning is limited, research indicating that social support is beneficial for individual well-being for Latinx populations broadly (e.g., Bélanger et al., 2016; Loayza-Rivas & Fernández-Castro, 2020) demonstrates that it may be similarly beneficial for intimate relationship functioning.

Potentially contributing to the limited literature assessing the role of social support in shaping intimate relationship outcomes for Latinx couples is a lack of valid measures to assess social support in Spanish. While measures do exist to assess social support in Spanish, they are either unvalidated (e.g., Viruell-Fuentes & Andrade, 2016) or are specific to support from one person or group of people (e.g., Escala de Apoyo de la Pareja y de Otros Significativos; Cienfuegos Martínez & Días-Loving, 2011). Given the importance of receiving social support from different areas, including from partners, friends, family, religious groups, and broader community, it is evident that a Spanish-language measure is needed to assess social support in these domains.

To address this, we translated Kessler’s Perceived Social Support scale (KPSS; Kessler et al., 1992) into Spanish because it assesses support in each of these domains. We utilized a mixed method, iterative process to develop a Spanish translation of the KPSS that is comprehensible across diverse Spanish-speaking cultures and regions (Harkness et al., 2003). We then evaluated the psychometric properties of our Spanish version of the KPSS utilizing a sample of both English- and Spanish-speaking participants (N = 603). We assessed the measure’s reliability, convergent and divergent validity, structural validity, invariance across Spanish and English languages, and invariance across Mexican and Spanish cultures and dialects. We found that our Spanish translation of the KPSS demonstrated adequate reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and structural validity, although its measurement invariance does not support comparisons across languages groups.

Our findings support the use of the Spanish version of the KPSS across diverse Spanish-speaking regions. This can help promote further development of our understanding of the role of social support in shaping relational outcomes for Latinx couples, which is much needed given existing barriers to equitable access to research participation and clinical care for Spanish-speakers in the United States.