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Qualitative and Quantitative Validation of Tools with Rating Scales Aimed at Assessing the Quality of University Service-Learning
Published on: August 29, 2025
[Reliability and validity of ULS-8 loneliness scale in elderly samples in a rural community]
1Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China. zhouliang1976@gmail.com
Objective:
To explore the reliability and validity of the short-form of the UCLA loneliness scale (ULS-8) among Chinese rural community-dwelling elderly.
Methods:
ULS-8 was used for 839 Chinese rural community-dwelling elderly during face-to-face interviews.
Results:
After deleting item-3 (I am an outgoing person) and item-6 (I can find companionship when I want it), the exploratory factor analysis showed that the construction of the new scale (ULS-6) fit the original construction of ULS-8, a single-factor resolution. Cronbach's α coefficient of ULS-6 was 0.831. Test-retest reliability was 0.715. All item-total correlations reached statistical significance. The total score of ULS-6 was correlated to quality of life, social support, suicidal ideation, and current major depression episode.
Conclusion:
ULS-6 shows satisfactory reliability and validity and meets the needs of psychometric properties, and can be used for the evaluation of loneliness among Chinese rural elderly.
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