Psychology RootsSignificant Others Scale
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About Significant Others Scale
Scale Name
Significant Others Scale
Author Details
Michael J. Power, Chris Champion, and Joyce Aris
Translation Availability
English
Background/Description
The Significant Others Scale (SOS), developed by Power, Champion, and Aris (1988), is a psychometric instrument designed to evaluate the perceived quality of interpersonal support received from individuals considered significant in a person’s life. The scale was created in response to increasing recognition that social support plays a central role in mental health, emotional adjustment, and overall well-being. In psychological literature, significant others—such as family members, romantic partners, or close friends—are understood to influence coping resources, stress resilience, and emotional stability. The SOS was therefore developed as a structured and reliable method to quantify the supportive or unsupportive behaviors experienced by individuals in these close relationships.
The questionnaire typically asks respondents to identify significant individuals in their lives and then rate the degree, consistency, and quality of support they receive. The scale captures both positive support behaviors (e.g., empathy, understanding, availability, encouragement) and negative or conflict-laden interactions that may undermine well-being. This makes the SOS particularly valuable in clinical, counseling, and health-psychology settings where relationship quality is directly connected to treatment adherence, stress response, and psychological outcomes.
The SOS is broadly applicable across populations, including individuals with chronic illness, mental health concerns, and those undergoing major life transitions. Its structure allows for a nuanced understanding of interpersonal dynamics without requiring lengthy or complex assessment procedures. Due to its strong empirical grounding and ease of use, it has been widely used in research on stress buffering, social cognition, emotional well-being, and interpersonal functioning.
Administration, Scoring and Interpretation
- Obtain the copy: Acquire the authorized version of the Significant Others Scale from academic publications or validated assessment sources.
- Explain the purpose: Inform the participant that the scale evaluates how they perceive support and interactions with significant individuals in their life. Emphasize confidentiality and the purpose of understanding interpersonal support patterns.
- Provide instructions: Ask respondents to think about key people in their lives and rate items according to their typical experiences of support or conflict. Responses are usually recorded using Likert-type options assessing frequency or intensity.
- Approximate time: Most individuals complete the SOS in 5–10 minutes.
- Administer the scale:
- Provide the questionnaire in paper or digital form in a private, comfortable setting.
- Participants complete ratings independently unless assistance is required for reading or comprehension.
- Score responses according to the scoring manual (higher scores typically indicate greater perceived support).
- Interpret results within context to evaluate social support levels, relational strain, or interpersonal resource availability.
Reliability and Validity
Significant others scale (SOS; Power et al., 1988). It is a measure of social support assessing the perceived emotional and practical support as well as the ideal amount of support that an individual would like to receive. It combines structural features (i.e. whether significant relationships do exist and who they are with) and functional characteristics (i.e. the type of social support). It thus allows calculation of the total social support score and the discrepancy scores (the actual support score minus the ideal support score). The scale has been reported to have a good test-retest reliability of between 0.73 and 0.83. Its criterion validity was established comparing three independent groups of depressed people, one nondepressive group of psychiatric cases and a symptom-free group.
The depressed group differed significantly on the SOS in comparison to the other groups in terms of ideal support, where they had higher ratings of what would be ideal, and a higher level of discrepancy between the support they perceived and the support they wanted (Power et al., 1988). The short version of the scale used in the present study allows participants to identify up to five close relationships. It has four questions each with the perceived and ideal parts which are asked for each of the identified relationships. However, participants are encouraged to ask for additional sheets if they have more than five significant others in their life. Responses were rated from 3 points Likert scale 0 = not at all to 2 = always. This scale has been translated into Urdu (Haqqani, 2014) for use with Pakistani adolescents.
Available Versions
Multiple-Items
Reference
Power, M. J., Champion, L. A., & Aris, S. J. (1988). The development of a measure of social support: the Significant Others (SOS) Scale. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27(4), 349-358.
Important Link
Scale File:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What does the Significant Others Scale measure?
It measures the perceived level and quality of emotional, practical, and interpersonal support received from significant individuals.
Q2: Who can use the SOS?
It can be used with adults in clinical, community, or research settings where understanding social support is relevant.
Q3: Does the SOS diagnose psychological disorders?
No. It assesses social support but does not diagnose any mental health condition.
Q4: How many significant others can a respondent identify?
This depends on the specific version used, but typically respondents rate multiple individuals for a full interpersonal profile.
Q5: Where is the SOS most useful?
In clinical psychology, health psychology, counseling, family studies, and research examining the effects of support systems on mental and physical health.
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