Reliability and validity of ULS-8 loneliness scale in elderly samples in a rural community.
10.3969/j.issn.1672-7347.2012.11.008
- Author:
Liang ZHOU
1
;
Zhi LI
;
Mi HU
;
Shuiyuan XIAO
Author Information
1. Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China. zhouliang1976@gmail.com
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH:
Aged;
China;
Community Health Services;
Female;
Humans;
Loneliness;
psychology;
Male;
Middle Aged;
Reproducibility of Results;
Rural Population;
Sampling Studies;
Surveys and Questionnaires
- From:
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences)
2012;37(11):1124-1128
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
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.
