Psychometric Properties of an Arabic Translation of the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MSPSS) in a community sample of Lebanese Adults

Abstract

Abstract Background There is a lack of methodologically strong measure to assess perceived social support among Arabic-speaking populations. Our main objective was therefore to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MSPSS) in a sample of Arabic-speaking Lebanese adults from the general population. Methods We adopted a cross-sectional design involving 387 non-clinical Lebanese adults aged 26.17 ± 11.47 years (58.4% females). The forward and backward translation method was applied to the MSPSS scale. Results The Arabic MSPSS and its subscales have a high internal consistency with McDonald’s ω values between 0.94 and 0.97. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that fit of the three-factor model was acceptable. All indices suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across gender. Both genders exhibited no significant difference in all MSPSS dimensions. Convergent validity was supported by showing that all three MSPSS sub-scores and total score correlated significantly and positively with resilience and posttraumatic growth scores. Conclusion Although further cross-cultural validations involving other Arab countries and communities are still needed, we preliminarily suggest that this scale is applicable to the broad Arabic-speaking people for the measurement of perceived social support in clinical and research contexts.