# Normative values and psychometric properties of the Oslo Social Support Scale-3 (OSSS-3) for adults aged 60 to 85 years

## TL;DR

This study confirms the reliability and validity of the Oslo Social Support Scale-3 for older adults and provides age-specific norms for its use in Germany.

## Contribution

The study establishes detailed normative values and confirms the psychometric properties of the OSSS-3 for older adults aged 60 to 85 in Germany.

## Key findings

- The EFA and CFA confirmed a one-factor model for the OSSS-3 with good fit.
- Percentile norms were generated for direct comparison of individual scores in older adults.
- Approximately 25% of older adults in Germany experience low perceived social support.

## Abstract

The main objective of the current study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Oslo Social Support Scale (OSSS-3) and establish detailed normative values for older adults aged between 60 and 85 years. The representative sample analyzed consists of German residents aged between 60 and 85 living in private households (N = 1659). The analysis of the psychometric properties of the OSSS-3 involved reliability and validity testing as well as an EFA and a CFA. We provide age-specific normative data for the OSSS-3 for the German population aged between 60 and 85. The EFA resulted in a one-factor model for OSSS-3, and the CFA confirmed that this model fits the data well. In accordance with previous studies on this topic, we found that the OSSS-3 is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing perceived levels of social support among older adults. The generated percentile norms allow the direct comparison of individual scores of older adults on the OSSS-3 to an age-corresponding reference sample. Exploring the levels of perceived social support among older adults is important, given the low levels of perceived social support experienced by approximately 25% of older adults in Germany. The risk factors for social isolation and its consequences for the mental and physical health of older adults are discussed. If the population continues to age as expected, an even greater number of older adults in the future could face low levels of perceived social support.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-025-00867-9.