Measuring perceived social support garnered in online spaces

The Online Social Support Scale (OSSS)

We developed the OSSS to measure four social support subtypes recognized for decades in the in-person literature, but in new online contexts:

  • 💕 Esteem/Emotional: esteem, acceptance, caring, validation, sympathy

  • 🎮 Social Companionship: belonging, inclusivity, sharing interests and activities

  • 📋 Informational: advice, help with coping, sharing information and perspective

  • 💸 Instrumental: financial aid, resources, help with tasks

Free to use for researchers: download the measure and scoring instructions here:

Descriptions of development, reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity are available in Psychological Assessment