A 6-Item Scale for Overall,Emotional,and Social Loneliness

Abstract

Loneliness is an indicator of social well-being and pertains to the feeling of missing an intimate relationship (emotional loneliness) or missing a wider social network (social loneliness). The 11-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale has proved to be a valid and reliable measurement instrument for overall, emotional, and social loneliness, although its length has sometimes rendered it difficult to use in large surveys. In this study, the authors empirically tested a shortened version of the scale on data from two surveys (N = 9,448). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the specification of two latent factors. Congruent validity and the relationship with determinants (partner status, health) proved to be optimal. The 6-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale is a reliable and valid measurement instrument for overall, emotional, and social loneliness that is suitable for large surveys.

Keywords

loneliness scale emotional loneliness social loneliness objective social isolation partner status

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Baltes, Margret M. , Alexandra M. Freund , and Ann L. Horgas . 1999. “Men and Women in the Berlin Aging Study.” Pp. 259-281 in The Berlin Aging Study: Aging From 70 to 100, edited by P. B. Baltes and K. U. Mayer . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Bisscheroux, P. F. L. A., S. Lops, and J. Wolleswinkel. 2001. Gezondheidsenquête Zuidhollandse Eilanden 2001 [Health Survey of Islands of Zuid-Holland] [Computer file]. Spijkenisse, the Netherlands: GGD Zuidhollandse Eilanden.

Borys, S. and Daniel Perlman . 1985. “Gender Differences in Loneliness.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 11:63-74.

Broese van Groenou , Marjolein, Theo Van Tilburg , Edith De Leeuw , and Aart Liefbroer . 1995. “Data Collection.” Pp. 185-197 in Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults, edited by C. P. M. Knipscheer , J. De Jong Gierveld , T. Van Tilburg , and P. A. Dykstra . Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Vrije Universiteit Press.

Dannenbeck, Clemens. 1995. “Im Alter Einsam? Zur Strukturveränderung Sozialer Beziehungen im Alter.” Pp. 125-56 in Das Individuum und Seine Familie, edited by H. Bertram. Opladen, Germany: Leske + Budrich.

De Jong Gierveld, Jenny . 1987. “Developing and Testing a Model of Loneliness.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 53:119-128.

De Jong Gierveld, Jenny . 1989. “Personal Relationships, Social Support, and Loneliness.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 6:197-221.

De Jong Gierveld, Jenny and Frans Kamphuis . 1985. “The Development of a Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale.” Applied Psychological Measurement 9:289-299.

De Jong Gierveld, Jenny and Annemarie Peeters . 2003. “The Interweaving of Repartnered Older Adults’ Lives With Their Children and Siblings.” Ageing & Society 23:187-205.

10.

De Jong Gierveld, Jenny and Theo Van Tilburg . 1999a. “Living Arrangements of Older Adults in the Netherlands and Italy: Coresidence Values and Behavior and Their Consequences for Loneliness.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 14:1-24.

11.

De Jong Gierveld, Jenny and Theo Van Tilburg . 1999b. Manual of the Loneliness Scale. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Vrije Universiteit.

12.

Dykstra, Pearl A. and Jenny De Jong Gierveld . 2004. “Gender and Marital-History Differences in Emotional and Social Loneliness Among Dutch Older Adults.” Canadian Journal of Aging/La Revue Canadienne du Vieillissement 23 (2):141-155.

13.

Dykstra, Pearl A. , Matthijs Kalmijn , Trudy Knijn , Aafke Komter , Aart Liefbroer , and Clara H. Mulder . 2004. Codebook of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, a Multi-Actor, Multi-Method Panel Study on Solidarity in Family Relationships, Wave 1 (NKPS Working Paper No. 1). The Hague: Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute.

14.

Havens, Betty and Madelyn Hall . 2001. “Social Isolation, Loneliness, and the Health of Older Adults.” Indian Journal of Gerontology 14:144-153.

15.

Hu, L. T. and P. M. Bentler . 1998. “Fit Indices in Covariance Structure Modeling: Sensitivity to Underparameterized Model Misspecification.” Psychological Methods 3:424-453.

16.

Hu, L. T. and P. M. Bentler . 1999. “Cutoff Criterion for Fit Indices in Covariance Structure Analysis: Conventional Criteria Versus New Alternatives.” Structural Equation Modeling 6:1-55.

17.

Hughes, Mary E. , Linda J. Waite , Louise C. Hawkley , and John T. Cacioppo . 2004. “A Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys: Results From Two Population-Based Studies.” Research on Aging 26:655-672.

18.

Jones, Warren H. and M. D. Carver . 1991. “Adjustment and Coping Implications of Loneliness.” Pp. 395-415 in Handbook of Social and Clinical Psychology: The Health Perspective, edited by C. R. Snyder and D. R. Forsych . New York: Pergamon.

19.

Jöreskog, Karl G. and Dag Sörbom . 1993. LISREL 8 User’s Reference Guide. Chicago: SSI.

20.

Kaufman, Gayle and Peter Uhlenberg, P. 1998. “Effects of Life Course Transitions on the Quality of Relationships Between Adult Children and Their Parents.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 60:924-938.

21.

Kitson, Gay C. and Leslie A. Morgan .1990. “The Multiple Consequences of Divorce: A Decade Review.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 52:913-924.

22.

Knipscheer, Cees P. M. , Jenny De Jong Gierveld , Theo Van Tilburg , and Pearl A. Dykstra . 1995. Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Vrije Universiteit Press.

23.

Kramer, Sophia E. , Theo S. Kapteyn , Dirk J. Kuik , and Dorly Deeg . 2002. “The Association of Hearing Impairment and Chronic Diseases With Psychosocial Health Status in Older Age.” Journal of Aging and Health 14:122-137.

24.

Mullins, Larry C. , Claudia H. Elston , and Sherri M. Gutkowski . 1996. “Social Determinants of Loneliness Among Older Americans.” Genetic, Social and General Psychology Monographs 122:453-473.

25.

Penninx, Brenda , Theo Van Tilburg , Didi M. Kriegsman , A. Joan Boeke , Dorly J. Deeg , and Jacques T. M. Van Eijk . 1999. “Social Network, Social Support, and Loneliness in Older Persons With Different Chronic Diseases.” Journal of Aging and Health 11:151-168.

26.

Perlman, Daniel and L. Anne Peplau . 1981. “Toward a Social Psychology of Loneliness.” Pp. 31-43 in Personal Relationships 3: Personal Relationships in Disorder, edited by R. Gilmour and S. Duck . London: Academic Press.

27.

Peters, Arnold and Aart C. Liefbroer . 1997. “Beyond Marital Status: Partner History and Well-Being in Old Age.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 59:687-699.

28.

Pilusuk, M. and M. Minkler . 1980. “Supportive Networks: Life Ties for the Elderly.” Journal of Social Issues 36:95-116.

29.

Pinquart, Martin . 2003. “Loneliness in Married, Widowed, Divorced, and Never-Married Older Adults.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 20:31-53.

30.

Pinquart, Martin and Sylvia Sörensen . 2001. “Influences on Loneliness in Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis.” Basic and Applied Social Psychology 23:245-266.

31.

Russell, Daniel W. 1996. “UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure.” Journal of Personality Assessment 66:20-40.

32.

Russell, Daniel W. , L. Anne Peplau , and Carolyn E. Cutrona . 1980. “The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and Discriminant Validity Evidence.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39:472-480.

33.

Steverink, Nardi , Gerben J. Westerhof , Christina Bode , and Freya Dittmann-Kohli . 2001. “The Personal Experience of Aging, Individual Resources, and Subjective Well-Being.” Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences 65B (6): 364-373.

34.

Van Baarsen, Berna , Tom A. B. Snijders , Johannes H. Smit , and Marijtje A. Van Duijn . 2001. “Lonely But Not Alone: Emotional Isolation and Social Isolation as Two Distinct Dimensions of Loneliness in Older People.” Educational and Psychological Measurement 61:119-135.

35.

Van Tilburg, Theo , Jenny De Jong Gierveld , Laura Lecchini , and Donatella Marsiglia . 1998. “Social Integration and Loneliness: A Comparative Study Among Older Adults in the Netherlands and Tuscany, Italy.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 15:740-754.

36.

Van Tilburg, Theo , Betty Havens , and Jenny De Jong Gierveld . 2004. “Loneliness Among Older Adults in the Netherlands, Italy, and Canada: A Multifaceted Comparison.” Canadian Journal of Aging/La Revue Canadienne du Vieillissement 23:169-180.

37.

Wagner, Michael , Yvonne Schütze , and Frieder R. Lang . 1999. “Social Relationships in Old Age.” Pp. 282-301 in The Berlin Aging Study: Aging From 70 to 100, edited by P. B. Baltes and K. U. Mayer . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

38.

Waite, Linda and Maggie Gallagher . 2000. The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier and Better Off Financially. New York: Doubleday.

39.

Weiss, Robert S. 1973. Loneliness: The Experience of Emotional and Social Isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

40.

Wenger, Clare G. , Richard Davies , S. Shahtahmasebi , and S. Scott . 1996. “Social Isolation and Loneliness in Old Age: Review and Model Refinement.” Ageing & Society 16:333-358.

41.

Windle, Gill and Robert T. Woods . 2004. “Variations in Subjective Wellbeing: The Mediating Role of a Psychological Resource.” Ageing & Society 24:583-602.