Adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Brief Social Support Scale for Families (BS6-F)

Background Social support is an important determinant of and resource for health and wellbeing of families. It positively affects health and wellbeing of both parents and children through different channels. Families with children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN) face complex caregiving demands and lower levels of mental wellbeing. Perceived social support is an important resource for these families and a structured assessment necessary to support healthcare providers and health policy. We here present the adaptation of the Brief Social Support Scale for Families (BS6-F) and its psychometric characteristics. Methods This study is based on data from the third of a series of cross-sectional online surveys assessing the situation of families with and without CSHCN in Germany during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, collected from December 2022 to March 2023. Caregivers of children ≤ 18 with and without CSHCN in Germany were eligible to participate. The BS6-F is a 6-item measure assessing perceived social support. It has two subscales, tangible and emotional-informational support. The adaptation of the original BS6 followed a structured consultation process involving representatives of a large patient organisation, the Kindernetzwerk e.V. Statistical analysis comprised descriptive item statistics, correlation analyses and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Results The final study sample comprised 381 participants. Item-level analyses indicated good variability and no floor or ceiling effects. Inter-item correlations and EFA supported the expected two-factor structure of the BS6-F. explaining 78.8% of the variance. Both subscales demonstrated good to excellent reliability (α = .788 and .924). Correlations between subscales were moderate (r = .427). confirming them as related but distinct dimensions. Perceived social support was negatively associated with child disease complexity (r = –.354) and child mental health problems (r = –.240), and weakly positively associated with parental well-being (WHO-5; r = .275) and SES (r = .180). Conclusions The BS6-F is a brief assessment tool for social support adapted to the situation and needs of families and a valuable addition for assessment and research. While the clear two-factor structure and good reliability coefficients support the theoretical model, replication in diverse and representative samples is essential to establish the instrument's broader validity. The BS6-F is freely available and both the English and German versions can be found in the Additional file 1.