Factor structures of perceived and actual social support Chinese students in Japan

This study compares the structure of perceived and actual support for Chinese students. One hundred and seventy-five Chinese students responded to a questionnaire that measured perceived and actual support using the ""Social Support Scale for Chinese Students in Japan"" developed by Jou (1993). The correlation between the two support scores was extremely high (r=.83), perceived support being higher than actual support. Five factors for perceived support and four factors for actual support were obtained from the factor analysis. The meaning of the five factors of perceived support was ambiguous and difficult to interpret, but the meaning of the factors of actual support was clear, and those factors were labeled, ""emotional factor"", ""academic factor"", ""interpersonal-cultural factor"", and ""daily living factor"". Thus, the data suggests that the structural difference between perceived and actual support might lead to the different effects on one's health.