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Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)3

Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) Test

Understand how supported you feel by family, friends, and key people in your life in about 3 minutes. This 12 item check-in offers a quick, validated snapshot of emotional and practical support.

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Questions: 123 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

33,354 views

2,909 completions

2,438 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

4/7

Friend Support (FS)

Measures how much emotional and practical support a person perceives from friends.

Low support

High support

1 – 3.6: Low support | 3.7 – 7: High support

A score of 4 indicates a generally high perceived level of support from friends.

example score

5/7

Significant Other Support (SOS)

Measures how much supportive involvement a person perceives from significant individuals in their life (e.g., a partner or mentor).

Low support

High support

1 – 3.7: Low support | 3.8 – 7: High support

A score of 5 indicates a generally high level of perceived support from significant others, suggesting you usually feel you can rely on them emotionally and practically.

example score

3/7

Family Support (FS)

Measures how much emotional and practical support a person perceives they receive from family members.

Low

High

1 – 3.9: Low | 4 – 7: High

A score of 3 falls in the Low range, suggesting the person perceives limited support from their family.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Feeling isolated or stressed

41%OF USERS

People who feel lonely, overwhelmed, or unsupported take it to clarify how much help they perceive from family, friends, and a significant other.

In therapy or counseling

34%OF USERS

Clients working with a psychologist use it to quickly map their support network and track changes during treatment or recovery.

Research and clinical screening

25%OF USERS

Students, researchers, and clinicians administer it to assess perceived social support as a factor in wellbeing and crisis risk.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Support from Friends (SfF)

Average

4.3

Normal range

3.5 — 5.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Support from Significant Others (SfSO)

Average

4.9

Normal range

3.7 — 6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Support from family (Sff)

Average

5.3

Normal range

4.5 — 6.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

The following statements concern the availability of support from people close to you and the extent to which you can rely on them in difficult situations. Select the response that best reflects the degree to which you agree or disagree with each statement. Please note that there are no right or wrong answers.

- Very strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neutral
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Very strongly agree
- Very strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Mildly disagree
- Neutral
- Mildly agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Very strongly disagree
- Strongly disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Strongly agree
- Very strongly agree

These are 3 of the 12 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) Test - Symptoms and Signs

social support

This measure assesses an individual’s perceived availability of social support from key sources. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) is commonly used to characterize perceived support from family, friends, and a significant other in clinical and research settings.

Developed by Gordon K. Farley, Gregory D. Zimet, Nancy W. Dahlem, and Sara G. Zimet, it consists of 12 items and typically takes about 3 minutes to complete. Respondents rate brief statements reflecting subjective support and interpersonal resources.

Scores from the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) can be used to describe overall perceived support and domain-specific support, which may inform case formulation, treatment planning, and monitoring of psychosocial context over time.

Author: Gordon K. Farley, Gregory D. Zimet, Nancy W. Dahlem, Sara G. Zimet

Literature: Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin. 1985.; Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer. 1984.; Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment. 1988.