Abstract

SILVA, Kátia Silveira da  and  COUTINHO, Evandro Silva Freire. Social support scale: test-retest reliability in pregnant women and structures of agreement and disagreement. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2005, vol.21, n.3, pp. 979-983. ISSN 0102-311X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2005000300035.

There is a growing interest in research on the association between social support and health outcomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and structure of agreement of a social support scale. Test-retest reliability was measured in a group of pregnant women (n = 65) in a public maternity ward. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and quadractically weighted kappa (kw²) were used as agreement measures. Log-linear statistical models were fitted to describe patterns of agreement. ICC for social support score was 0.90. The kw² ranged from 0.23 to 0.70. Log-linear models that provided the best fit to the data were diagonal agreement plus linear-by-linear association and quasi-independence models. The scale was considered a reliable instrument to measure social support scale in low-income pregnant women.

Keywords : Social Support; Validation Studies; Linear Models.