VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY STUDY OF THE SOCIAL SUPPORT SCALE FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

This study was designed in order to assess the validity and reliability of “Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale”, which was adapted for Turkish by Gökler (2007), for preschool children. 414 children between 48-72 months old and their parents and also their teachers participated in this study. Since they do not know how to read and write, their parents and teachers responded to the Social Support Scale on behalf of the preschool children. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were applied for the scale items. According to the results of the study, it was found out that Social Support Scale for Preschool Children (SSSFPS) assessed four dimensions of social support: Exposure to negative behavior, Support from Friends, Support from School and Support from Family. The reliability coefficients were .84 for factor 1, .80 for factor 2, .79 for factor 3, .70 for factor 4 and the reliability coefficient for the whole scale was found .89. As for the results of the study, it can be said that the Social Support Scale for Preschool Children (SSSFPS) is a valid and reliable instrument for determining the social support sources of 48-72 months old preschool children.