Adaptation of the short-form of the UCLA loneliness scale (ULS-8) to turkish for the adolescents

Yildiz M. A., DUY B.

Dusunen Adam - The Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences, vol.27, no.3, pp.194-203, 2014 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 27 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2014
  • Doi Number: 10.5350/dajpn2014270302
  • Journal Name: Dusunen Adam - The Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.194-203
  • Keywords: Adolescence, loneliness, reliability, scale adaptation, validity, PEER VICTIMIZATION, SOCIAL ANXIETY, ACCEPTANCE, BELONGINGNESS, CONNECTEDNESS, SATISFACTION, FRIENDSHIP, DEPRESSION, LINKS
  • Anadolu University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to adapt short form of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8) to Turkish and investigate the validity and reliability of the scale for Turkish adolescents. Method: The participants in this study were 293 high school students aged between 14 and 19. Among the participants 110 (37.5%) were male, 183 (62.5%) were female and mean age was found to be 15.85 (SS=1.20). Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the construct validity of the scale. In order to check criterion validity of Turkish version of the ULS-8 scale, the General Belongingness Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale were used. For reliability of Turkish version of the ULS-8, average variance extracted (AVE), composit reliability, Cronbach alpha level and test-retest correlation were computed. Results: The factor analysis resulted in one factor. Factor loadings of the items varied between 0.31 and 0.71. All of the fit indices indicated a good-fit model for the ULS-8. Criterion-related validity analysis revealed that there were significant relationships between loneliness and the general belongingness (r=-0.71), life satisfaction (r=-0.42). The results also showed that internal consistency coefficients of the factors were highly satisfactory for whole scale α=0.74. Test-retest reliability scales was found to be (r=0.84, p<0.001) on a sample of 64 high school students in a period of two weeks. Conclusion: Findings suggested that the Turkish version of the ULS-8 was found a valid and reliable instrument for Turkish adolescents.