Validation Studies of the PEPSS, a Measure of Perceived Emotional Support for Use with Adolescents

The validity of a self-report measure of emotional support, the Perceived Emotionall Personal Support Scale (PEPSS), was investigated in two studies of middle and late adolescents. The PEPSS asks respondents to nominate nine social network members and then to rate each of these relationships on four emotional support items. Factor-analytic techniques were used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed subscale structure of the measure, and both the predictive and the concurrent validity of PEPSS subscales were investigated. Weak but significant correlations were found between family support and a measure of depressive symptoms completed 6 months later. Family and friend subscales of the PEPSS were highly correlated with the family and friend sections of another measure of perceived emotional support. Results of the two studies suggest that the PEPSS may be a useful research instrument for future investigations of emotional support from family members and friends among adolescents.