Disconnection from social others: a RULS Loneliness Short Scale.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Sciences
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Loneliness is a significant psychological state.
• Existing measures may lack brevity or psychometric soundness.
• Developing a concise, reliable loneliness scale is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a brief, psychometrically sound scale for assessing loneliness.
• To create a measure that captures the critical factor of lacking social support.
• To ensure the scale demonstrates robust psychometric properties.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated 39 unidimensional models from the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (RULS).
• Conducted analyses with large Argentine participant samples (N=329, 525, 623, and 870).
• Assessed model fit, construct reliability (CR), and associations with psychological variables.

Main Results:

• A five-item model (DOS-RULS) demonstrated consistently good fit and high reliability (CR = .893).
• The scale showed robust fit indices (scaled χ²(5) = 2.41, CFI = 1.000, SRMR = .004).
• Confirmed expected associations: inverse with well-being, direct with negative emotional states.

Conclusions:

• The DOS-RULS is a brief, psychometrically sound instrument for measuring loneliness.
• It effectively captures the lack of a supportive social network.
• The scale's utility is supported by its reliability, model fit, and construct validity, with successful replication.