Assessment of a short scale to measure social support among older people.

Background: Social support strongly influences health, but research has been limited by the paucity of brief, inexpensive, psychometrically sound scales suitable for use with older people.

Method: The validity and reliability of the 11-item Duke Social Support Index (DSSI) were tested among a random sample of 565 community dwelling people aged 70 years and over.

Results: A response rate of 76% was obtained.