Would the Real Loneliness Please Stand Up? The Validity of Loneliness Scores and the Reliability of Single-Item Scores

Marcus Mund; Marlies Maes; P. M. Drewke; A. Gutzeit; I. Jaki; Pamela Qualter

doi:10.1177/10731911221077227

Would the Real Loneliness Please Stand Up? The Validity of Loneliness Scores and the Reliability of Single-Item Scores

Marcus Mund^*, Marlies Maes, P. M. Drewke, A. Gutzeit, I. Jaki, Pamela Qualter

^*Corresponding author for this work

KU Leuven

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Several measures that assess loneliness have been developed for adults. Across three studies, we investigated psychometric
features of scores of different versions of the Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale, the University of California Los Angeles
Loneliness Scale, and three single-item measures. In Study 1 (N = 697 self-ratings, N = 282 informant-ratings of 160 targets)
and Study 2 (N = 1,216 individuals from 608 couples), we investigated convergent validity, self-informant agreement, and
nomological nets of the item scores using correlates related to demographic aspects, personality, satisfaction, and network
characteristics. In Study 3 (N = 411), we estimated a reliability of rxx > .70 for scores of three single-item measures of
loneliness. Overall, scores of all measures and their nomological nets were highly correlated within and across studies,
indicating that the scores of the included measures are all reliable and valid. Recommendations for choosing a loneliness
measure are discussed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1226–1248
Number of pages	23
Journal	Assessment
Volume	30
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911221077227
Publication status	Published - Jun 2023

Keywords

loneliness
Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale
University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale
single-item measures
validity
nomological net
self-other agreement

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Cite this

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title = "Would the Real Loneliness Please Stand Up? The Validity of Loneliness Scores and the Reliability of Single-Item Scores",

abstract = "Several measures that assess loneliness have been developed for adults. Across three studies, we investigated psychometricfeatures of scores of different versions of the Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale, the University of California Los AngelesLoneliness Scale, and three single-item measures. In Study 1 (N = 697 self-ratings, N = 282 informant-ratings of 160 targets)and Study 2 (N = 1,216 individuals from 608 couples), we investigated convergent validity, self-informant agreement, andnomological nets of the item scores using correlates related to demographic aspects, personality, satisfaction, and networkcharacteristics. In Study 3 (N = 411), we estimated a reliability of rxx > .70 for scores of three single-item measures ofloneliness. Overall, scores of all measures and their nomological nets were highly correlated within and across studies,indicating that the scores of the included measures are all reliable and valid. Recommendations for choosing a lonelinessmeasure are discussed.",

keywords = "loneliness, Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale, University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, single-item measures, validity, nomological net, self-other agreement",

author = "Marcus Mund and Marlies Maes and Drewke, {P. M.} and A. Gutzeit and I. Jaki and Pamela Qualter",

year = "2023",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1177/10731911221077227",

language = "English",

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T1 - Would the Real Loneliness Please Stand Up? The Validity of Loneliness Scores and the Reliability of Single-Item Scores

AU - Mund, Marcus

AU - Maes, Marlies

AU - Drewke, P. M.

AU - Gutzeit, A.

AU - Jaki, I.

AU - Qualter, Pamela

PY - 2023/6

Y1 - 2023/6

N2 - Several measures that assess loneliness have been developed for adults. Across three studies, we investigated psychometricfeatures of scores of different versions of the Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale, the University of California Los AngelesLoneliness Scale, and three single-item measures. In Study 1 (N = 697 self-ratings, N = 282 informant-ratings of 160 targets)and Study 2 (N = 1,216 individuals from 608 couples), we investigated convergent validity, self-informant agreement, andnomological nets of the item scores using correlates related to demographic aspects, personality, satisfaction, and networkcharacteristics. In Study 3 (N = 411), we estimated a reliability of rxx > .70 for scores of three single-item measures ofloneliness. Overall, scores of all measures and their nomological nets were highly correlated within and across studies,indicating that the scores of the included measures are all reliable and valid. Recommendations for choosing a lonelinessmeasure are discussed.

AB - Several measures that assess loneliness have been developed for adults. Across three studies, we investigated psychometricfeatures of scores of different versions of the Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale, the University of California Los AngelesLoneliness Scale, and three single-item measures. In Study 1 (N = 697 self-ratings, N = 282 informant-ratings of 160 targets)and Study 2 (N = 1,216 individuals from 608 couples), we investigated convergent validity, self-informant agreement, andnomological nets of the item scores using correlates related to demographic aspects, personality, satisfaction, and networkcharacteristics. In Study 3 (N = 411), we estimated a reliability of rxx > .70 for scores of three single-item measures ofloneliness. Overall, scores of all measures and their nomological nets were highly correlated within and across studies,indicating that the scores of the included measures are all reliable and valid. Recommendations for choosing a lonelinessmeasure are discussed.

KW - loneliness

KW - Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale

KW - University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale

KW - single-item measures

KW - validity

KW - nomological net

KW - self-other agreement

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DO - 10.1177/10731911221077227

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EP - 1248

JO - Assessment

JF - Assessment

IS - 4

ER -

Would the Real Loneliness Please Stand Up? The Validity of Loneliness Scores and the Reliability of Single-Item Scores

Abstract

Keywords

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