Data was collected using a questionnaire including student information and the multidimensional scale of perceived
social support inventory. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS 17.
The two most reliable and valid measures of received and provided support--the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB) and the UCLA
Social Support Inventory (UCLA-SSI)--are about thirty years old, and perhaps need modifications (although I am not suggesting to overlook them).
Social Support Inventory. The
Social Support Inventory (SSI; Brown et al., 1987) is a 39-item questionnaire that assesses satisfaction with support and help received from others over the previous month.
Only 4 of the 875 police did not answer the modified Diaz Veiga's
Social Support Inventory: of those that did respond, the findings were the following: 96.7% (820 people) reported having parents, nieces, nephews, siblings or cousins; 93.1% (773 subjects) said they have friends and 797 police (91.9%) reported having children.
The questionnaires included the short version Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to assess state anxiety, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess depression, the Illness cognition questionnaire to assess cognitions of helplessness and acceptance regarding infertility, and a
social support inventory.