SASSR

Social Adjustment ScaleSelf-Report

Assesses ones ability to adapt to, and derive satisfaction
from, 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. Within
each 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, or
student; social and leisure activities; relationships with extended
family; role as a marital partner; parental role; and role within the
family unit, including perceptions about economic functioning.
This scale, which has been used widely in research to evaluate the
efficacy of pharmacological treatments of mental disorders, offers
results that can be used clinically to screen, to aid in treatment
planning, and to monitor progress. It also provides cost-effective
evidence of social outcomes beyond symptoms, helping to deter-
mine whether the treatment program is resulting in fewer days lost
at work, improved work performance, or other evidence of
reduced economic and social burden. The SASSR covers areas of
functioning relevant to both genders and provides both an overall
indication of social adjustment and a mean score for each role
area 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 to
community norms and it can be used to establish treatment goals
and types of intervention. In primary care settings, the SASSR can
be used to alert practitioners to social problems that may interact
with medical problems and treatment. In clinical treatment trials of
medication or psychotherapy, the SASSR can provide an assess-
ment that goes beyond symptom reduction to probe aspects of a
patients quality of life and functioning. Here, it is particularly use-
ful in detecting impairment in the patients functioning at work or
in the family, even if symptom remission is achieved via medication
or psychotherapy.
Users of the SAS-SR include psychiatrists, psychologists, medical
doctors, 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 Qualification
The SASSR may be easily administered and scored by counselors,
nurses, physicians, psychologists, social workers, and other trained
professionals and paraprofessionals. A professional with advanced
training in psychological assessment and related disciplines that
adhere 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 the
areas of psychology, medicine, nursing, social work, education, or
an 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.
Norming
In 1978, norms were established for a community sample of 482
individuals (205 males, 277 females) ranging in age from 24 years
to 70 years. Data were also collected for an acutely depressed
sample 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 has
demonstrated a wide range of applicability, and the community
norms 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 for
acutely ill and recovered outpatients, schizophrenics, and alco-
holics. Analyses have been conducted to study age, gender, and
sociodemographic effects in the normative sample and in
depressed 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, and
scoring.
Instrument
Respondents are asked to rate each of the 54 items by circling the
number that corresponds to the most appropriate option. The
questions within each area cover four categories: 1) performance
at expected tasks; 2) amount of friction with people; 3) finer
aspects of interpersonal relations; and 4) feelings and satisfactions.
The first three categories concern the patients behavior, and the
fourth category concerns his or her feelings and satisfactions. Each
question is rated on a five-point scale, with higher scores indicat-
ing more impairment. The scores of items within each role area are
summed and a mean for each role is obtained. An overall adjust-
ment score is obtained by summing the scores of all the items and
dividing by the number of items answered. The SASSR generates
7 mean scores: one for each of the six role areas (as applicable to
the respondent), plus a score for the overall mean. Mean scores
are converted into standard T-scores to profile the SASSR scores
for each role area and by gender. In addition to allowing an indi-
viduals scores to be compared to population norms, a direct
comparison 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 the
patients behalf. The scale has a North American fourth grade
reading level.
Myrna M. Weissman, Ph.D. and MHS Staff
Format
The SASSR is available in both paper-
and-pencil and computer formats. The
MHS QuikScore

format is designed for

easy hand recording, scoring, and profiling
of responses. No scoring templates are
necessary and because the respondents
answers automatically transfer through to
the concealed scoring page, the scores
can be generated immediately and at the
clinicians convenience.
For computer-based and web-enabled
assessments, custom integration with your enterprise database, or
site licensing arrangements, the SASSR is incorporated into the
MHS Professional Tool Suite, sophisticated software technology
featuring SmartLink

, a client management program. For details

about the capabilities and configuration possibilities of the MHS
Professional Tool Suite, please refer to the MHS Professional Tool
Suite product brochure available from MHS or contact the MHS
Healthcare Division.
Translations
MHS has experience with developing accurate transla-
tions of assessments published by MHS as well as by other
publishers, 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 Validation
The manuals coverage spans a presentation of the background
as well as the theoretical and practical concepts upon which the
SASSR is based and offers a series of case studies as concrete
examples of the instruments applicability in clinical settings. Much
detailed data are presented, including
Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and standard
error of measurement as three kinds of reliability
A collection of validity studies using various methodolo-
gies produces evidence of the validity of the SASSR
taken from a wide variety of research and clinical con-
texts. Evidence of divergent, discriminant, convergent,
external, and concurrent validity is provided offering
information about how well the scale measures the con-
struct of interest and in what ways the SAS-SR can be
used in decision making.
Supportive Literature
The SASSR has been used in a number of settings to investigate a
variety of research and clinical issues. Several studies are cited that
have made use of the SASSR to investigate such diverse issues as
the nature of affective and psychiatric disorders and their treat-
ment, medical disorders, aging, drug and alcohol use, response to
sexual and physical trauma, and marriage and divorce. The listing
contained in the manuals bibliography serves as a presentation of
possible uses for the SASSR. Excerpts selected include
Bohle, V.A., Wietersheim, J.V., Wilke, E., & Feiereis, H. (1991). Die
Soziale integration von patientinnen mit anorexia nervosa und
bulimie (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 Affective
Disorders, 23, 137149.
Garber, J., Kriss, M.R., Koch, M., & Lindholm, L. (1988). Recurrent
depression in adolescents: A follow-up study. Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 4954.
Kosten, T.R., Rounsaville, B.J., & Kleber, H.D. (1983b). Relationship of
depression to psychosocial stressors in heroin addicts. The Journal
of 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). Prognostic
significance 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. International
Psychogeriatrics, 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 Series
Rehabilitation 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:
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In Canada: 1-800-268-6011
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healthcare@mhs.com
For translations: translations@mhs.com
Additional copies of this document and sample reports of available
software versions may be obtained from our web site.
HC 03 01 Printed in Canada