This study aimed to test the stability of the bifactorial structure of the short version of Sarason 's Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6) which measures two dimensions of social support (satisfaction and availability). The French version of the SSQ6 was administered to 869 French adults (303 females, 566 males) confronted with more or less stressful situations (student life, unemployment, severe illness or handicap). Confirmatory analyses were undertaken on the whole population and on the subgroups (students/patients/unemployed men; males/females). They confirmed the stability of the factorial structure of the SSQ6 (between groups and between cultures). Moreover, the two dimensions of the SSQ6 (satisfaction and availability of support) were associated with functional transactional processes (active coping, healthy behaviours) and with criteria of emotional and somatic health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
