In addition to obtaining the four-category model subscales of the RSQ (see below for the relevant items)‚ the three Hazan & Shaver (1987) attachment styles can be obtained by simply going back to their original Adult Attachment Style measure and matching up the statements. Additionally‚ the three dimensions used by Collins and Read (1990) can also be obtained. Alternatively‚ and perhaps preferably‚ you can use the questionnaire to derive scales of the underlying two dimensions.  This can be done two ways:  1) by conducting a factor analysis of the items  or 2) by using the scores from the four prototype items to cr‎eate linear combinations representing the self and other-model attachment dimensions. We recommend that you consult the Kurdek (2002) paper in JSPR which recommends the best approach for scoring the measure dimensionally.

Like the RQ‚ the RSQ can be worded in terms of general orientations to close relationships‚ orientations to romantic relationships‚ or orientations to a specific adult‚ peer relationship.

The RSQ is designed as a continuous measure of adult attachment. The RSQ was NOT designed‚ nor intended to be used‚ as a categorical measure of attachment. If‚ however‚ it is absolutely necessary for you to classify participants into attachment patterns‚ you must use standard scores. First‚ you would cr‎eate the four subscales by computing the mean rating of the items for each subscale. Then you would transform those mean ratings into standard scores. This is a far from ideal use of the RSQ and should be undertaken only as a last resort!

Please read each of the following statements and rate the extent to which you believe each statement best describes your feelings about close relationships.

		Not at all like me		Somewhat like me		Very much like me
1.	I find it difficult to depend on other people.	1	2	3	4	5
2.	It is very important to me to feel independent.	1	2	3	4	5
3.	I find it easy to get emotionally close to others.	1	2	3	4	5
4.	I want to merge completely with another person.	1	2	3	4	5
5.	I worry that I will be hurt if I allows myself to become too close to others.	1	2	3	4	5
6.	I am comfortable without close emotional relationships.	1	2	3	4	5
7.	I am not sure that I can always depend on others to be there when I need them.	1	2	3	4	5
8.	I want to be completely emotionally intimate with others.	1	2	3	4	5
9.	I worry about being alone.	1	2	3	4	5
10.	I am comfortable depending on other people.	1	2	3	4	5
11.	I often worry that romantic partners don't really love me.	1	2	3	4	5
12.	I find it difficult to trust others completely.	1	2	3	4	5
13.	I worry about others getting too close to me.	1	2	3	4	5
14.	I want emotionally close relationships.	1	2	3	4	5
15.	I am comfortable ha‎ving other people depend on me.	1	2	3	4	5
16.	I worry that others don't value me as much as I value them.	1	2	3	4	5
17.	People are never there when you need them.	1	2	3	4	5
18.	My desire to merge completely sometimes scares people away.	1	2	3	4	5
19.	It is very important to me to feel self-sufficient.	1	2	3	4	5
20.	I am nervous when anyone gets too close to me.	1	2	3	4	5
21.	I often worry that romantic partners won't want to stay with me.	1	2	3	4	5
22.	I prefer not to have other people depend on me.	1	2	3	4	5
23.	I worry about being abandoned.	1	2	3	4	5
24.	I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others.	1	2	3	4	5
25.	I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like.	1	2	3	4	5
26.	I prefer not to depend on others.	1	2	3	4	5
27.	I know that others will be there when I need them.	1	2	3	4	5
28.	I worry about ha‎ving others not accept me.	1	2	3	4	5
29.	Romantic partners often want me to be closer than I feel comfortable being.	1	2	3	4	5
30.	I find it relatively easy to get close to others.	1	2	3	4	5

Together with Mike Antoni and a number of other people‚ I have been involved for several years in research on the effects of a multi-modal cognitive-behavioral stress management intervention on the psychosocial well-being of breast cancer patients. In the course of this work‚ several questions have arisen about social support. One question is whether different sources of support matter in different ways (e.g.‚ partner‚ friends‚ health care providers).  Another question is how different aspects of support differ.  Indeed‚ there is a developing literature suggesting that negative support is more impactful than positive support. Neither of these questions is new-‎-both have been asked by other people. However‚ we found ourselves not entirely satisfied with how existing measures differentiated these variables from each other. We developed an item set of our own‚ which has now been used in at least two longitudinal studies of cancer patients (breast and prostate cancer).

The SSSS has a separate section for each potential source of support being assessed.  Each section uses essentially the same items (with appropriate changes of pronouns).


Proper citation is as follows:

Carver‚ C. S. (2006). Sources of Social Support Scale. http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/ccarver/sclSSSS.html

Here are the instructions for the SSSS‚ and the items as they would be applied to husband/partner.

These items concern the kinds of help and support you get from various people regarding your illness.  The items ask about several different sets of people‚ but apply the same questions to each. Use the following choices for these items:

1 = Not at all
2 = A little
3 = A moderate amount
4 = A pretty large amount
5 = A lot

A.  The first items concern your husband/partner.  [If you do not have a husband/partner‚ leave these items blank and skip to section B].

1.  How much does your husband/partner give you advice or information about your breast cancer (whether you want it or not)?
2.  How much does your husband/partner give you assistance with things related to your breast cancer (for example‚ helping you with daily chores‚ driving you places‚ dealing with bills and paperwork)?
3.  How much does your husband/partner give you reassurance‚ encouragement‚ and emotional support (affection) concerning your breast cancer?
4.  How much does your husband/partner listen to and try to understand your worries about your breast cancer?
5.  How much can you relax and be yourself around your husband/partner?
6.  How much can you open up to your husband/partner if you need to talk about your worries about your cancer?
7.  How often does your husband/partner argue with you relating to your cancer?
8.  How often does your husband/partner criticize you relating to your cancer?
9.  How often does your husband/partner let you down when you are counting on him?
10.  How often does your husband/partner withdraw from discussions about your illness or try to change the topic away from your illness?

B.  The next items concern adult women in your family (sisters‚ mother‚ aunts or adult daughters).  [If you do not have adult women in your family‚ leave these items blank and skip to section C]. 

Subsequent sections in this particular application are other family members‚ friends‚ and health care providers.

These scales were originally presented by Brennan‚ Shaver & Hazan (1989) but not published in print until included in a later article (Brennan & Shaver‚ 1995).  The authors cr‎eated these scales by conducting a large scale‚ oblique factor analysis of 143 individual items‚ that resulted in 34 factors with eigenvalues greater than one.  Seven of the factors were se‎lected as ha‎ving sufficient items to each form a 10-item sub-scale with adequate internal reliability. The seven factors were titled:

All items were measured on 7-point Likert-type scales ranging from "disagree strongly" to "agree strongly".  The following two of the seven sub-scales are extracted from Brennan & Shaver (1995).

Notes: (R) indicates reverse scored item.

During their study‚ Brennan & Shaver (1995) compared scores from this scale with attachment style measured using the Adult Attachment Questionnaire. They found the following relationships:

Attachment Style	Positive Correlations	Negative Correlations
Avoidant	Frustration with partners  Self-reliance  Ambivalence	Trust / confidence in others  Proximity seeking
Anxious/Ambivalent	Frustration with partners  Jealousy / fear of abandonment  Anxious clinging to partners	Trust / confidence in others
Secure	Trust / confidence in others  Proximity seeking	Frustration with partners  Self-reliance  Ambivalence  Jealousy / fear of abandonment  Anxious clinging to partners

Adapted from Brennan & Shaver‚ 1995

Discriminant function analysis using all seven scales was used to categorise participants and this was compared with their self-report classification using the Hazan and Shaver measure. The two resulting discriminant functions correctly predicted the attachment style of 72.3% of participans. These functions separated out the secure from the avoidant participants and then separated out the anxious/ambivalent participants.

Factor analysis was conducted on the seven sub-scales using principal axis extraction.  Two factors emerged which accounted for 71.3% of the variance and correlated at only r = 0.05.  Based on the contributing items‚ these factors were labelled 'insecurity‚' which distinguished avoidant from secure participants‚ and 'preoccupation with attachment‚' which distinguished anxious/ambivalent from secure participants.