SASSRSocial Adjustment ScaleSelf-Report

Assesses ones ability to adapt to, and derive satisfactionfrom, ones social roles

Myrna M. Weissman, Ph.D. and MHS Staff

54 items; Self-Report

Ages 17 and older

15-20 minutes administration time

B Level User Qualification

1999 MHS Inc.

Aim The SASSR identifies and investigates 6 social role areas. Withineach of these areas, both instrumental (what we do in the world)and expressive (how we relate to others) aspects are evaluated.The role areas are work, either as a paid worker, homemaker, orstudent; social and leisure activities; relationships with extendedfamily; role as a marital partner; parental role; and role within thefamily unit, including perceptions about economic functioning.

This scale, which has been used widely in research to evaluate theefficacy of pharmacological treatments of mental disorders, offersresults that can be used clinically to screen, to aid in treatmentplanning, and to monitor progress. It also provides cost-effectiveevidence of social outcomes beyond symptoms, helping to deter-mine whether the treatment program is resulting in fewer days lostat work, improved work performance, or other evidence ofreduced economic and social burden. The SASSR covers areas offunctioning relevant to both genders and provides both an overallindication of social adjustment and a mean score for each rolearea addressed. One of its key features is that it allows for assess-ment of change overtime, since it is ideally suited for use in follow-up assessments.

The SASSR can be administered to new admissions in mental-health settings to detect areas of social dysfunction relative tocommunity norms and it can be used to establish treatment goalsand types of intervention. In primary care settings, the SASSR canbe used to alert practitioners to social problems that may interactwith medical problems and treatment. In clinical treatment trials ofmedication or psychotherapy, the SASSR can provide an assess-ment that goes beyond symptom reduction to probe aspects of apatients quality of life and functioning. Here, it is particularly use-ful in detecting impairment in the patients functioning at work orin the family, even if symptom remission is achieved via medicationor psychotherapy.

Users of the SAS-SR include psychiatrists, psychologists, medicaldoctors, nurses, psychiatric workers, social workers, and other men-tal health professionals. Appropriate settings for use include hospi-tals, primary care settings, family practices, inpatient clinics, out-patient clinics, private practices, and universities.

User QualificationThe SASSR may be easily administered and scored by counselors,nurses, physicians, psychologists, social workers, and other trainedprofessionals and paraprofessionals. A professional with advancedtraining in psychological assessment and related disciplines thatadhere to relevant professional standards must assume responsi-bility for the use, interpretation, and communication of results.Qualified users of this test should be licensed professionals in theareas of psychology, medicine, nursing, social work, education, oran allied field. B level qualifications require that, as a minimum, the

user has completed courses in tests and measurement at a uni-versity or has received equivalent documented training.

NormingIn 1978, norms were established for a community sample of 482individuals (205 males, 277 females) ranging in age from 24 yearsto 70 years. Data were also collected for an acutely depressedsample on antidepressant medication (N=191), a sample of alco-holics in treatment (N=54), and a sample of ambulatory schizo-phrenics on antipsychotic medication (N=47). The SAS-SR hasdemonstrated a wide range of applicability, and the communitynorms have been used as a stable criterion against which a vari-ety of psychiatrically and medically ill populations are compared.Norms are available from a number of studies on the SASSR foracutely ill and recovered outpatients, schizophrenics, and alco-holics. Analyses have been conducted to study age, gender, andsociodemographic effects in the normative sample and indepressed samples. Findings are presented in the SASSR Manual,including a discussion on the performance of the SAS-SR on mea-suring social functioning, which presents content, informant, psy-chometric properties, time frame, subjectivity/objectivity, andscoring.

InstrumentRespondents are asked to rate each of the 54 items by circling thenumber that corresponds to the most appropriate option. Thequestions within each area cover four categories: 1) performanceat expected tasks; 2) amount of friction with people; 3) fineraspects of interpersonal relations; and 4) feelings and satisfactions.The first three categories concern the patients behavior, and thefourth category concerns his or her feelings and satisfactions. Eachquestion is rated on a five-point scale, with higher scores indicat-ing more impairment. The scores of items within each role area aresummed and a mean for each role is obtained. An overall adjust-ment score is obtained by summing the scores of all the items anddividing by the number of items answered. The SASSR generates7 mean scores: one for each of the six role areas (as applicable tothe respondent), plus a score for the overall mean. Mean scoresare converted into standard T-scores to profile the SASSR scoresfor each role area and by gender. In addition to allowing an indi-viduals scores to be compared to population norms, a directcomparison of a mean in one role-area to a mean in another role-area can be made.

A relative or significant other can also complete the SASSR on thepatients behalf. The scale has a North American fourth gradereading level.

Myrna M. Weissman, Ph.D. and MHS Staff

FormatThe SASSR is available in both paper-and-pencil and computer formats. TheMHS QuikScore format is designed foreasy hand recording, scoring, and profilingof responses. No scoring templates arenecessary and because the respondentsanswers automatically transfer through tothe concealed scoring page, the scorescan be generated immediately and at theclinicians convenience.

For computer-based and web-enabledassessments, custom integration with your enterprise database, orsite licensing arrangements, the SASSR is incorporated into theMHS Professional Tool Suite, sophisticated software technologyfeaturing SmartLink, a client management program. For detailsabout the capabilities and configuration possibilities of the MHSProfessional Tool Suite, please refer to the MHS Professional ToolSuite product brochure available from MHS or contact the MHSHealthcare Division.

TranslationsMHS has experience with developing accurate transla-tions of assessments published by MHS as well as by otherpublishers, utilizing our worldwide network of over 400

qualified translators with backgrounds in psychology and medi-cine. Many of our products are available in a variety of languages.In addition to English, the SASSR is available in Afrikaans, Chinese,Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French (Canadian), French(European), German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian,Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish (European),Spanish (South American), and Swedish.

Scientific ValidationThe manuals coverage spans a presentation of the backgroundas well as the theoretical and practical concepts upon which theSASSR is based and offers a series of case studies as concreteexamples of the instruments applicability in clinical settings. Muchdetailed data are presented, including

Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and standarderror of measurement as three kinds of reliability

A collection of validity studies using various methodolo-gies produces evidence of the validity of the SASSRtaken from a wide variety of research and clinical con-texts. Evidence of divergent, discriminant, convergent,external, and concurrent validity is provided offeringinformation about how well the scale measures the con-struct of interest and in what ways the SAS-SR can beused in decision making.

Supportive LiteratureThe SASSR has been used in a number of settings to investigate avariety of research and clinical issues. Several studies are cited thathave made use of the SASSR to investigate such diverse issues asthe nature of affective and psychiatric disorders and their treat-ment, medical disorders, aging, drug and alcohol use, response tosexual and physical trauma, and marriage and divorce. The listingcontained in the manuals bibliography serves as a presentation ofpossible uses for the SASSR. Excerpts selected include

Bohle, V.A., Wietersheim, J.V., Wilke, E., & Feiereis, H. (1991). DieSoziale integration von patientinnen mit anorexia nervosa undbulimie (Social adjustment of patients suffering from anorexia ner-vosa). Z Psychosom Med Psychoanal, 37, 282291 [German trans-lation].

Brodaty, H., Peters, K., Boyce, P., Hickie, I., Parker, G.l., Mitchell, P.,& Wilhelm, I.K. (1991). Age and depression. Journal of AffectiveDisorders, 23, 137149.

Garber, J., Kriss, M.R., Koch, M., & Lindholm, L. (1988). Recurrentdepression in adolescents: A follow-up study. Journal of the AmericanAcademy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 4954.

Kosten, T.R., Rounsaville, B.J., & Kleber, H.D. (1983b). Relationship ofdepression to psychosocial stressors in heroin addicts. The Journalof Nervous and Mental Disease, 171, 97104.

Livingston, M.G., Brooks, D.N., & Bond, M.P. (1985). Patient out-come in the year following severe head injury and relatives psy-chiatric and social functioning. Journal of Neurology,Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 48, 876881.

Rounsaville, B.J., Kosten, T.R., & Weissman, M.M. (1986). Prognosticsignificance of psychopathology in treated opiate addicts: A 2.5-year follow-up study. Archives of General psychiatry, 43, 739745.

Schneider, L.S., Zemansky, M.F., Bender, M., & Sloane, R.B. (1992).Personality in recovered depressed elderly. InternationalPsychogeriatrics, 4, 177185.

Weissman, M.M., Olfson, M., Gameroff, M.J., Feder, A., & Fuentes,M. (2001). A comparison of three scales for assesssing social func-tioning in primary care. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(3),460-466.

International

Social Adjustment ScaleSelf-Report

BarOn Emotional QuotientInventory (BarOn EQi)Carroll Depression ScalesRevised (CDSR)Coping with Health Injuries and Problems (CHIP)Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS)Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS)Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS)Family Assessment MeasureIII (FAMIII)Health Dynamics Inventory (HDI)HELP-Self-Regard for Windows

HELP-Stress for Windows

HELP-Think for Windows

Illness Effects QuestionnaireMulti-Perspective (IEQMP)Internalized Shame Scale (ISS)Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)Rehabilitation Checklist (RCL)Rehabilitation Education and Coping SeriesRehabilitation Survey of Problems and Coping (RSOPAC)Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI)Symptom Assessment45 Questionnaire (SA45)

Complements for the SASSR

For pricing and ordering information:

Web Site: www.mhs.com E-mail: customerservice@mhs.comIn the U.S. 1-800-456-3003In Canada: 1-800-268-6011International: +1-416-492-2627Fax: 1-888-540-4484 or 1-416-492-3343

For research: r_d@mhs.comFor site licensing and software delivery applications: healthcare@mhs.comFor translations: translations@mhs.com

Additional copies of this document and sample reports of availablesoftware versions may be obtained from our web site.

HC 03 01 Printed in Canada