14.I often worry about not being successful when I try
to help others who need me.
16.When I decide to help someone, I worry that I won’t
be able to solve the problem or ease the person’s
distress.
18.I sometimes worry that I try to help others more
than they want me to.20.I sometimes feel that I intrude too much while
trying to help others.
Notes : Items are rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale
ranging from: 1 5Strongly disagree to 7 5Strongly
agree.
Reproduced with permission.
Social Support Scale Based on Attachment Theory (SSS)
(Frı´as et al., 2014 ).
Variable
According to attachment theory (Bowlby, 1982), security-providing interactions with attachment
figures reinforce reliance on social support as a distress-regulation strategy and encourage optimistic beliefs
about other people’s supportiveness. This sense of security reflects positive working models of self and others,
which include positive perceptions and expectations of others’ support that make people more likely to seek and
provide support ( Mikulincer & Shaver, 2009 ). Insecure individuals, either anxious or avoidant, are predisposed
to appraise their attachment figures’ availability and responsiveness negatively and to perceive and remember
others’ helpful behavior as less supportive than it actually was (Collins & Feeney, 2004). Either because they
place high value on autonomy and self-sufficiency (avoidant individuals) or because the chronic activation of
their attachment system does not allow them to benefit from the social support they receive (anxious indivi-
duals), insecure people may experience negative rather positive emotions after receiving social support
(Mikulincer & Shaver, 2009 ).
Description
The SSS contains 45 items addressing four issues: (1) beliefs about others socially supportive behavior; (2) seek-
ing social support; (3) perception of receiving social support; and (4) emotional reactions to receiving social sup-
port. Based on factor analyses, the items assessing beliefs about others’ socially supportive behavior were
divided into two subscales: positive beliefs (9 items) and negative (skeptical, suspicious) beliefs (4 items). The
seeking social support subscale includes 11 items. The perception of receiving social support subscale includes 8
items. Finally, the emotional reactions to receiving social support items were divided into two subscales, one con-
cerning positive emotional reactions (9 items) and the other concerning negative emotions (4 items). All of the
items are evaluated on a 6-point scale.
Sample
The SSS was validated on a sample of 366 American undergraduate students.
Reliability
Cronbach alpha coefficients were as follows: positive beliefs .79; negative (skeptical, suspicious) beliefs .77;
seeking social support subscale .84; perception of receiving social support subscale .92; positive emotional reac-
tions to receiving social support .90; and negative emotional reactions to receiving social support .82.
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
Positive beliefs about others correlated positively with reappraisal coping (.29). Negative beliefs correlated pos-
itively with attachment anxiety (.19), and passive acceptance (.19), and diverting coping (.15). Seeking social sup-
port correlated positively with attachment anxiety (.19), and reappraisal coping (.39). Perception of receiving
social support correlated positively with reappraisal coping (.46). Positive reactions to receiving social support
correlated positively with reappraisal coping (.50). Finally, negative reactions to receiving social support441 BEHAVIORAL SYSTEMS SCALES
IV. INTERPERSONAL STYLES