Development and validation of Social Support Needs Questionnaire (SSNQ) for the left-behind older adults in rural China

Objectives: This study compiled a Social Support Needs Questionnaire (SSNQ) for the left-behind older adults in rural China and assessed its psychometric properties. Methods: The formation of the SSNQ included three stages. First, item pool was established based on literature analysis. Second, through expert consultation, the 1-version questionnaire items were determined. Third, pre-survey with 901 cases of rural left-behind older adults was used to develop and test final-version of the Social Support Needs Questionnaire (SSNQ). Results: The Cronbach's α of the SSNQ was 0.914, ranging from 0.815 to 0.886 for each factor. The item-content validity index ranged from 0.875 to 1.00, and the scale-content validity index was 0.969. Conclusions: The SSNQ prepared by this study can be used as an evaluation tool for the social support needs of left-behind older adults in rural China, providing a basis for further establishment of the social support system.