Measuring Perceived Social Support in Elite Athletes: Psychometric Properties of the Romanian Version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support

A Biopsychosocial Model for Understanding Training Load, Fatigue, and Musculoskeletal Sport Injury in University Athletes: A Scoping Review

ABSTRACT

McClean, ZJ, Pasanen, K, Lun, V, Charest, J, Herzog, W, Werthner, P, Black, A, Vleuten, RV, Lacoste, E, and Jordan, MJ. A biopsychosocial model for understanding training load, fatigue, and musculoskeletal sport injury in university athletes: A scoping review. J Strength Cond Res 38(6): 1177-1188, 2024-The impact of musculoskeletal (MSK) injury on athlete health and performance has been studied extensively in youth sport and elite sport. Current research examining the relationship between training load, injury, and fatigue in university athletes is sparse. Furthermore, a range of contextual factors that influence the training load-fatigue-injury relationship exist, necessitating an integrative biopsychosocial model to address primary and secondary injury prevention research. The objectives of this review were (a) to review the scientific literature examining the relationship between training load, fatigue, and MSK injury in university athletes and (b) to use this review in conjunction with a transdisciplinary research team to identify biopsychosocial factors that influence MSK injury and develop an updated, holistic biopsychosocial model to inform injury prevention research and practice in university sport. Ten articles were identified for inclusion in this review. Key findings were an absence of injury surveillance methodology and contextual factors that can influence the training load-fatigue-MSK injury relationship. We highlight the inclusion of academic load, social load, and mental health load as key variables contributing to a multifactorial, gendered environmental, scientific inquiry on sport injury and reinjury in university sport. An integrative biopsychosocial model for MSK injury in university sport is presented that can be used to study the biological, psychological, and social factors that modulate injury and reinjury risk in university athletes. Finally, we provide an example of how causal inference can be used to maximize the utility of longitudinally collected observational data that is characteristic of sport performance research in university sport.

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support

Aim

The purpose of this study is to revise the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and validate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the scale for Chinese college students.

Methods

A total of 2830 Chinese college students were tested with the Chinese version of MSPSS. Four weeks after the formal test, 80 randomly selected subjects were retested.

Results

The item analysis shows that the total correlation between each item and the total score is 0.525~0.806, higher than the standard of 0.30; the difference between the high group and the low group in all items has reached the significant level. Exploratory factor analysis shows that the scale includes three factors with a cumulative contribution rate of 69.185%; confirmatory factor analysis shows that the data is well fitted. The total score and three factors of social support scale are positively correlated with self-esteem, with a correlation value of 0.367~0.433, and negatively correlated with depression and anxiety, with correlation values of -0.356~-0.428 and -0.253~-0.308; all are significant at 0.01 level. The internal consistency coefficient of the scale is 0.911, the split-half coefficient is 0.865, and the test-retest coefficient is 0.837-0.914.

Conclusion

The Chinese version of the MSPSS has good reliability and validity, and is suitable for Chinese college students.

Perceived social support, perceived stress, and quality of sleep among COVID-19 patients in Iran: assessing measurement invariance of the multidimensional scale of perceived social support across gender and age

Background

Perceived social support (PSS) plays a considerable role in mental health. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) is one of the most widely used scales, leading to much research evidence. The present study investigated its measurement model, equivalence across gender (male and female) and age groups (older patients= above 60 and non-older patients= below 60), and concurrent validity.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and October 2020, on patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran. The scales were administered to 328 COVID-19 patients (54.6% male, aged 21 to 92) from two general hospitals; participants completed MSPSS (including friends, family, and significant others subscales), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, include sleep latency, subjective sleep quality, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep duration, use of sleep medication, daytime dysfunction, and sleep disturbances subscales), and the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10, to assess patients' appraisal of stressful conditions).

Results

The MSPSS three-factor structure was confirmed among COVID-19 patients by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The results support the MSPSS internal consistency and configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender and age groups. Nevertheless, small but significant differences were found across ages based on the latent factor mean of the MSPSS from friends, with a lower mean level in older patients. The coefficients of Cronbach's alpha (ranging from.92 to.96), the ordinal theta (ranging from.95 to.98), and Omega (ranging from.93 to.97) suggested high internal consistency of MSPSS. The concurrent validity of MSPSS was evidenced by its significant negative correlation with PSS-10 (τb = -.13, p <.01) and also subjective sleep quality (τb = -.22, p <.01), sleep disturbances (τb = -.26, p <.001), and daytime dysfunction (τb = -.26, p <.001).

Conclusions

The MSPSS was valid and reliable for measuring individuals' perception of social support between males and females and older and non-older COVID-19 patients.

A Bifactor-ESEM Representation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support

The aim of this study is to examine the factor structure of Turkish version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and to analyze its psychometric properties through the bifactor-ESEM framework. Using a convenience sample of 1124 Turkish adults, seven different models were tested. The results supported the superiority of a bifactor-ESEM solution that included three specific factors (family, friends, and significant others) and a general factor. In addition, bifactor indices showed that the general factor of MSPSS is not strong enough and its multidimensional structure is supported. For the bifactor-ESEM model, strict measurement invariance was achieved according to the gender variable. Our results supported convergent validity for the general and specific factors of the MSPSS, which were found to be associated with measures of distress, loneliness, and resilience. As a result, MSPSS is a valid and reliable measurement tool with its bifactor-ESEM model.

Psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the multidimensional social support scale (MSPSS) in a community sample of adults

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of methodologically strong measure to assess perceived social support among Arabic-speaking populations. Our main objective was therefore to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MSPSS) in a sample of Arabic-speaking Lebanese adults from the general population.

METHODS

We adopted a cross-sectional design involving a convenience sample of 387 non-clinical Lebanese adults aged 26.17 ± 11.47 years (58.4% females). Participants were administered a web-based anonymous questionnaire containing the MSPSS, the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Post traumatic growth Inventory-Short Form. The forward-backward translation method was applied. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and gender invariance in the MSPSS were examined. McDonald's ω coefficients were calculated as internal consistency indicators.

RESULTS

The Arabic MSPSS and its subscales have a high internal consistency with McDonald's ω values between 0.94 and 0.97. CFA indicated that fit of the three-factor model was acceptable. All indices suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across gender. Both genders exhibited no significant difference in all MSPSS dimensions. Convergent validity was supported by showing that all three MSPSS sub-scores and total score correlated significantly and positively with resilience and posttraumatic growth scores.

CONCLUSION

Although further cross-cultural validations involving other Arab countries and communities are still needed, we preliminarily suggest that this scale is applicable to the broad Arabic-speaking people for the measurement of perceived social support in clinical and research contexts.

Analysis of Social Support as an Argument for the Sustainable Construction of the European Community Space

Cohesion policy is a constant and central area of interest across the European Union. The development and success of European society depends on the social and economic cohesion at the level of all member states. Starting from this assumption, our study will focus on the interdependence between social cohesion and social support, the latter being interpreted and analysed as a means whereby social cohesion may be achieved. Thus, understanding the manifestations of community cohesion at the level of the European communities is an essential element in this investigation, while its main purpose is to build an explanatory model for interpreting social support. Based on such a framework, social cohesion may be analysed and understood. The following measurement scales will be applied to the analysis of social support: the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Survey of Recent Life Experiences, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The source of the information is a non-random sample of 1364 respondents. Data processing is based on the implementation of structural equation modelling (SEM) in order to explore the key factors that influence the perception of social support. As mentioned previously, we plan to build an explanatory model that links the perception of social support with life satisfaction and the disturbing factors that are the outcome of life experiences. A set of comparisons is also made using the independent t test and one-way ANOVA. The perception of social support is interpreted from the perspective of the occupational situation, the age category, the educational level and the marital status of respondents. The variables included in the study generally satisfied the goodness of fit indexes in accordance with the recommendations of the literature on SEM models. The conclusions of the study show that social support is at the core of community integration and one of the determinant elements of social cohesion. Everyday life events condition the perception of social support. In turn, the perception of social support acts on life satisfaction. It has been observed that a higher perception of social support may be associated with greater cohesion at the level of communities and also with a more stable social environment. We have identified a determining relationship between the perceived social support and the degree of social cohesion.