Translation and adaptation of the Social Support Network Inventory in Brazil

Purpose: To describe the translation and adaptation of the Social Support Network Inventory (SSNI) to Brazilian Portuguese. Methods: The SSNI is a widely used, reliable, and valid instrument, designed to measure social support among English-speaking people. The questionnaire was translated and adapted to the Brazilian-Portuguese language by the back-translation method. The translated version was evaluated in a sample of 120 Brazilian women in treatment for breast cancer. Findings and Conclusions: Internal consistency and construct validity were examined, and the psychometric properties of the translated instrument were good. The translated SSNI was easily understood by the respondents and did not present difficulty during the interviews. The Portuguese version of the SSNI is a valid instrument to assess social support among Portuguese-speaking patients.