| Abstract: | The first aim was to explore the relationship between socio‐demographic characteristics and perceived support from significant others, family and friends. Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, and Farley's Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) (Journal of Personality Assessment, 52, 1988, 30–41) was administered to 418 males and 623 females between 18 and 77 years of age. The results indicate that family support is higher in males, and the support of friends decreases with age as does the support of significant others. Significant interactions also emerged between gender and age and between gender and marital status. No differences were found for educational level. The second aim was to discover which persons are identified as ‘special persons’ on the items of the ‘Significant others’ sub‐scale of the MSPSS. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
