The General Military Support Scale: An examination of factor structure and psychological correlates

Social support is an important protective factor against psychological health problems secondary to potentially traumatic events experienced during deployment in military populations. Measures of military social support are available but are often constrained to a single construct, requiring multiple measures to be administered. A brief tool that assesses multiple sources of support is needed. Accordingly, we examined the psychometric characteristics of a novel measure of military social support, the General Military Support Scale (GMSS), and its relationship with psychological health outcomes. Participants (N = 1,145) were U.S. medical service members deployed to Iraq. A sequential approach using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and confirmatory factor analyses was completed to examine the GMSS. Initial analyses supported a 3-factor solution with moderately correlated factors representative of perceived military unit belongingness, military unit trust, and non-military support (from significant others and the public). Bifactor-ESEM best fit the data and supported a well-defined general factor and strong loadings on specific factors, suggesting the utility of a GMSS total and three subscale scores. Findings provide initial evidence for the GMSS as a reliable and valid instrument of military social support that is significantly related to psychological health outcomes. The GMSS offers a brief measure to assess various social supports in the military unit and from nonmilitary sources that can screen and monitor service members. Future research is needed to further validate the psychometric properties of the GMSS and its generalizability across different military samples.