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. 2023 Jul 26:16:2843-2855.
doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S406523. eCollection 2023.

Assessment of an Epidemic Urgency: Psychometric Evidence for the UCLA Loneliness Scale

Rossella Bottaro  1 , Giusy Danila Valenti  2 , Palmira Faraci  1
Affiliations

Assessment of an Epidemic Urgency: Psychometric Evidence for the UCLA Loneliness Scale

Rossella Bottaro et al. Psychol Res Behav Manag. .

Abstract

Background: In modern industrialized countries, loneliness has been declared an epidemic. The present paper aimed to replicate previous findings about the dimensionality of the UCLA Loneliness Scale-3 version (LS-3) in a sample of Italian adults using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM).

Methods: In Study 1, 1676 participants (Mage= 31.15; SD = 11.89) completed the LS-3. The three-factor ESEM model was performed to replicate the previous Italian version, and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis compared the three- and ten-item short versions. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, we administered measures of anxiety, depression, stress, internet addiction, self-esteem, and social interaction anxiety to 3513 participants (Mage= 30.81; SD = 11.77) to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of LS-3.

Results: The ESEM 3-factor model was replicated using a Target rotation (X2 = 847.597; df = 133; CFI = 0.942; TLI = 0.917; RMSEA = 0.062), whereas the already-known LS-3 short version raised psychometric concerns. Positive relationships with anxiety, depression, stress, internet addiction, and social interaction anxiety, as well as negative association with self-esteem were found.

Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings support the use of the LS-3 in the Italian sample and discourage the administration of the current short forms. The implications for research and clinical practice have been discussed.

Keywords: Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling; UCLA; loneliness; psychometrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Exploratory Structural Equation Model for the 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale-3 version.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Confirmatory Factor Analysis for the UCLA Loneliness Scale-3 3-item Short Version.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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