Medical Outcomes Survey Social Support
What It Measures
The MOS Social Support Survey asks a straightforward question nineteen times over: if you needed this, would someone be there? Not who is in a person's life, but whether particular kinds of help are actually available when required.
Four kinds of support are covered. Emotional and informational support is having someone to confide in and someone to give advice. Tangible support is having someone to help with chores or take you to the doctor. Affectionate support is being loved and shown affection. Positive social interaction is having someone to do enjoyable things with. Each item is rated from none of the time to all of the time, and scores can be reported per subscale or as one overall index.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: RAND makes the survey available for noncommercial use only, and states that permission is required to reproduce or reuse it in another form for commercial purposes.
